Exsanguinate Me
by AquaRias
Summary: Cedric survived the third task, and he and Harry both escaped the graveyard alive. In an attempt to keep them hidden from Voldemort’s new obsession, the two are moved from country to country until 3 years later they end up in Forks, Washington. Twilight x
1. Moving

**Exsanguinate Me**

**Summary: Cedric survived the third task, and he and Harry both escaped the graveyard alive. In an attempt to keep them hidden from Voldemort's new obsession, the two are moved from country to country until 3 years later they end up in Forks, Washington. Twilight xover. **

**Important A/N: Obviously, this is AU. Also, in case you didn't read the summary properly, it is a Twilight cross over. If you haven't read Twilight or at least seen the movie, most of it will not make much sense. In this story Dumbledore told Harry about The scar connection and the prophecy a year earlier – instead of waiting until Sirius died at the end of fifth year, he told him after the Third task. He also told Harry all about the Order. The prologue takes place right after that conversation – assume Dumbledore has just told him everything he tells Harry at the end of book five. The pairings are currently undecided but probably will NOT be Harry/Cedric. Unless enough people want it to be, of course. **

**Prologue: Moving**

_Harry's head was spinning out of control. There was just too much happening at one – the third task, Voldemort's return, the Priori Incantatum, Moody being an impostor…and now this._

"_What? What do you mean?" Harry asked, his voice wavering a little as his eyes widened._

_Dumbledore sighed, glancing from Harry to the older brown haired boy sitting next to him. "Now that Voldemort-" He paused as Cedric flinched slightly, "-has returned, I believe he will try his hardest to get to you now Harry. And Cedric…" Dumbledore trailed off, considering the boy in front of him carefully. "You did something tonight not many others have managed – you survived. Tom has never tolerated survivors. I a afraid you are just as high on his list as Harry is now."_

"_But…" Cedric began, shaking his head. "You could protect us here. I don't understand! I want to stay with my family!"_

"_No." Dumbledore said firmly. "It is too easy for him to reach you here. His next move will be to manipulate Harry through his scar – the only way to make that impossible is to get Harry far enough away that the connection is ineffective. "_

"_But I could stay here couldn't I?" Cedric cried, desperation starting to creep into his tone. "Harry could be hidden because of the scar but I could stay here? You could protect me here."_

"_Mr. Diggory…I'm afraid that if Harry were to leave and be unreachable by Voldemort, Tom would go for the easier target while he tried to locate Harry. If you chose to stay here he would know exactly where to find you." Dumbledore said gravely, frowning at the two dismayed students. _

"_So…we have no choice?" Harry asked softly as he stared at the floor._

_Dumbledore sighed. "You do, of course, have a choice. If you choose to remain here in Britain then the Order and myself will do our best to protect you. However, I do hope you choose the other option." _

"_What about my family?" Cedric asked, his gaze burning into Dumbledore's dimmed blue eyes. "Could I see them?" _

"_You must understand that Fudge will take your disappearance into his own hands. He will want to know where you are and that cannot be allowed to happen. Tom could easily get the information out of anyone who knows through legilimancy. For this reason, it has to look like the two of you vanished with no help from me or anyone else. Your parents cannot know where you are, or even that you are with Harry. No one can. I will be the only one who knows."_

"_So…we'll be all alone?" Harry asked, eyes widening in fear._

"_No one can go with you that will be missed. It has to look like you vanished on your own." _

"_So we'll be on our own." Harry muttered dejectedly._

"_No Harry," Dumbledore said, his eyes sparkling slightly. "No one can go whose absence will be _missed._ Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, however, will not be missed. Sirius, obviously, is 'missing' already, and Remus hasn't been in Europe since he taught here last year. They will accompany you." _

"_Sirius Black!" Cedric cried. "As in, the mass-murderer-Azkaban-escapee Sirius Black?" _

"_This will take some explaining…" Harry muttered, shaking his head, before launching into the tale._

Since then, the foursome had travelled around the world, moving to a new city or country every few months. It had been difficult in the beginning – especially for Cedric, who had left his entire family and life behind in Britain - but it had been just as hard for Harry whose friends were like his surrogate family. But over time the pain lessened as the two boys began to get used to their new life.

It had been three years since the night that had changed their lives, and Harry was now approaching his seventeenth birthday while Cedric had already turned nineteen. They had been living in a small town in New South Whales, Australia for almost half a year now – a record for them so far – when they finally got the news that they had to move. A mobile phone call from Albus and their lives got uprooted once again.

"Where are we going now?" Harry asked as he slowly packed his bags once again.

"America." Sirius answered with a sigh. "To a town called Forks in Washington."

Cedric snorted from across the room. "Forks? Seriously? Next we'll be living in 'Spoons'."

Harry sighed, throwing another T-shirt into his bad. "I just hope that Forks is the _last_ place we have to live. I just want to go home."

"Me too." Cedric sighed, his good humour gone.

"Here's to Forks." Sirius muttered before leaving the room.


	2. Anxiety

**A/N: POVs will change frequently. Some will be in first person but most in third – I will state whose POV it is at every change. **

**Chapter two: Anxiety**

_Harry's POV._

Harry was extremely, incredibly, absolutely and completely bored. It was a fourteen hour flight from Sydney to Seattle and he'd already been sitting in the uncomfortable plane seat for at least twelve of them. Cedric, the prat, had gone to sleep and Sirius and Remus had flown to Britain instead. Apparently, urgent order business had come up and the two were going to meet the teenagers in Forks. So now Harry was left with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

He was tempted to just wake the older boy up but quickly dropped that idea after thinking of the potential consequences a murderous and grumpy Cedric would invoke.

Harry sighed, leaning back into the cramped seat. Sirius, the bastard, had (despite being incredibly rich) bought them all economy class tickets. Apparently, booking nice, comfortable first class tickets might attract too much attention. Harry rolled his eyes. Whatever. Plenty of people bought first class tickets. Harry screaming in agony as his back cramped up? That would attract attention. Booking first class tickets would not.

His Nintendo DS (Seventeenth birthday present from Sirius) had run out of batteries hours ago and there were no decent movies playing – he had already sat through two hours of some lame-ass supposed 'comedy' full of bad actors and even worse digital effects. Finally, after another half hour of silent suffering, Harry poked the body beside him. Hard.

Cedric groaned but otherwise remained motionless. "Cedric!" Harry hissed. "Wake up."

"Ughh…" He moaned as he opened his eyes groggily. "Harry?" He asked, peering up at the younger teen. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored." Harry whined with a long drawn out sigh.

"Entertain yourself. I was sleeping." Cedric snapped angrily.

"But I wanna talk." Harry moaned, turning pleading eyes onto his surrogate brother.

Cedric sighed, sitting up a little straighter. "Fine. How long until we land?"

"Like, another whole two hours or something." Harry grumbled, rubbing his head. A few moments passed in silence before Cedric finally sighed.

"Well what do you want to talk about then? If you're just gonna sit there then I'm going back to sleep." He grumbled, glaring at the dark haired boy.

"I wish we could have just gone back to Britain with Siri and Remy." Harry sighed, voicing a complaint that had been on his mind since they had left Sydney.

"Me too." Cedric sighed. "I'm sick of this. But Dumbledore said that Forks may be the last move?"

"That's what he said last time." Harry muttered. "It's _never_ the last move. It's _never_ going to be 'safe' enough in Britain. Not until Voldemort's dead anyway."

"Well…at least America should be interesting? We haven't been there yet." Cedric said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Isn't America known to be really sunny and happy? Like California?"

Harry snorted shaking his head. "Idiot. You have no idea where we're going, do you?"

"America?"

"Yeah, but Washington. As in the state, not the city. I looked it up – In Forks it rains about ninety percent of the time and it's _never_ sunny."

"So basically like London?"

"Basically." Harry sighed, leaning back against the head rest. "Only one hour and fifty-four minutes to go…"

…---…

_Cedric's POV._

Cedric yawned as they stepped out of the terminal, grabbing Harry's arm and dragging the half asleep teenager to the exit. A cab had been arranged to pick them up and take them to the house Sirius had bought in Forks, but Cedric was still a little nervous about the whole thing. Ever since they'd started this whole adventure they had always had Sirius and Remus to look after them – this was the first time they'd had to do anything by themselves and Cedric was nervous.

The four of them had become like family. Harry was the younger brother he'd never had and Sirius and Remus were like uncles. And after three years he'd gotten used to having that dynamic, but now he was the one in charge and it felt strange to say the least.

He pulled Harry out to where a long line of cabs were waiting and walked over to the first one in line. "Hey...who are you waiting for?" he asked once the driver had wound down the window.

"Clarence Forfeather." The driver replied flippantly.

"Oh…thanks." Cedric muttered before moving to the next cab.

"You the Blacks?" The driver of the next cab asked as they approached.

"Yes. You're our cab?" The driver nodded, causing Cedric to sigh in relief. "Great, thanks." He said, before quickly hauling he and Harry's luggage into the back. He opened the left hand side door and pushed Harry in before walking round to the other side and climbing in himself.

"I'm gonna go sleep now…" Harry mumbled, trailing off mid sentence as he curled into the side of the cab.

"Okay, you do that." Cedric sighed, resigning himself to watching the scenery fly by as they made their way to Forks.

---…---

_Cedric's POV. _

It had been two days since they had arrived at their new house in Forks, and Sirius and Remus had not arrived. The house Sirius had bought was rather average – a simple two story town house. There was a living room, bathroom, kitchen and two bedrooms down stairs, and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Sirius and Remus would have the two rooms downstairs while Harry and Cedric would have the upstairs rooms.

The house was already fitted with basic furniture, but there was a lot of shopping to be done. Their boxes hadn't arrived yet from Australia, and they were told that they probably wouldn't be here for a week or two. The only communication they'd had from Sirius and Remus was a letter received that morning by owl post.

_Boys,_

_The order business is going to take some time. We're sorry, but we won't be able to get there for another couple of days. The car we ordered should be delivered tomorrow, use that to go shopping for whatever you need._

_In case we aren't back in a couple of days when you start school Harry, I've sent over all the documents you'll need. _

_Sorry boys, hang tight we'll be back as soon as possible. _

_Love,_

_Sirius and Remus._

"Great." Harry had muttered. "We're stuck on our own."

"We'll be fine Harry." Cedric said placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

"Yeah. Whatever." Harry muttered before going back upstairs to his new room to unpack.

Cedric sighed, running a hand through his spiky brown hair. Harry's bad moods became more and more frequent every time they were forced to move – none of them liked the constant moving, but it seemed to be particularly hard on Harry. Each time they moved Harry became a little more withdrawn and reluctant to make friends to the point where he had become anti-social to all but his surrogate family.

Cedric could understand it, even if he didn't like it. The constant moving meant that any friends he did happen to make they ended up having to leave behind anyway, and further contact with people from previous cities was not possible. So, just like he had left Ron and Hermione, he had to leave his new friends too.

By this point Harry had given up making friends at all. In the six months they had lived in Sydney and attended a high school there, he had sat with Cedric at lunch (Cedric had attended as a senior even though he was a year older then the other seniors) and refused to make any friends his own age. He had become more reliant on Cedric and less reliant on friends his age – something Cedric hoped would improve now that he wouldn't be attending school with Harry.

Cedric was drawn out of his thoughts by a loud thump from upstairs. "Harry?" He called, making his way to the staircase. "You alright?" He reached Harry's room to find him kneeling on the floor, his hand rubbing his head in soothing circles.

"Are you okay?" Cedric asked, hurrying into the room. "Did you feel dizzy again? Did you faint?"

"No Cedric, I'm fine." Harry groaned, bracing himself on the bed as he stood.

"Are you sure? If you feel _any_ dizziness or vertigo you know you have to tell Albus Harry-"

"Cedric!" Harry snapped angrily. "I'm fine. I just tripped is all."

"Then why are you rubbing your head?"

"I have a headache alright? Stop trying to be my guardian!" Harry yelled, his fists balling in anger.

Cedric straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. "Until Sirius and Remus get back I _am_ your guardian."

"I'm seventeen, I don't _need_ a guardian!" Harry shouted back indignantly.

"Maybe not in the magical world, but we're in the muggle world now Harry. Deal with it." Cedric snapped before storming out of the room.

"I hate you!" Harry screamed after him before the door slammed in his face.

…---…

_Harry's POV._

I regretted it almost as soon as I'd said it – but I wasn't going to apologise. Not until he did. Because even thought I regret saying it, I meant it. I hate how overbearing he is and I hate that he thinks I can't do _anything_ on my own.

I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. I looked after myself for the first eleven years of my life – I can certainly do it now that I'm seventeen years old. I don't need him holding my hand and telling me it's going to be okay and I _definitely_ don't need him worrying about me as if I'm a six year old. I don't need him at _all_. I don't need anyone. I can survive on my own. I hate him.

I hate how he worries and I hate that he thinks I can't look after myself.

I hate that he thinks he can fix everything and make everything okay.

I hate that he know all my weaknesses and I hate that he knows me so well.

I hate that he _can_ fix everything and make everything okay.

I hate that I have to rely on him and I _hate_ needing him.

I hate that I _know_ I couldn't survive anymore without his stability and his calming presence.

I hate that he's not going to be there anymore this year. That I'm going to _have_ to survive at school on my own. I hate it. I hate that he's not going to be there to calm me down if I freak out at school and I _hate_ that he's the only one who can.

Most of all I hate that I _know_ I'll cave and apologise first, because I need him more then he needs me. And I _hate_ needing him.

_Harry's POV._

Harry managed to ignore the older teen for the rest of the day. Neither apologised and so dinner (takeaway Chinese) was a silent affair. Harry went up to his room straight after dinner, closing his door firmly as he sat on his bed. Something was bugging him – something was nagging at the edge of his mind and he just couldn't put a finger on what it was. His eyes drifted to the desk in the corner where a photo frame sat and suddenly it clicked.

The photo was of him, Cedric, Sirius and Remus smiling happily on the lawn of their house in Sydney, a small golden retriever puppy lying across Harry and Cedric's lap. Sally, their dog who they'd had to leave behind in Sydney. Usually, Harry would feed her straight after dinner – something he obviously hadn't done that night. He sighed as he thought of the source of the nagging. After living in Sydney for a month Remus had talked to Albus who had been convinced they would be able to stay there for a while. After hearing that, without telling anyone, he had gone out and bought an adorable eight week old golden retriever puppy. It had been his promise that they would be able to stay – something to tie them there and make the promise real.

But it hadn't been real. They'd ended up moving anyway and had to leave the then six month old Sally with their old neighbours.

_It just goes to show that promises mean nothing._ Harry thought bitterly, before turning away from the photo.

---…---

'_Let it drown…please…let it drown' Staring in horror as the thing was dropped into the cauldron, his scar on fire all the while. _

"_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" The ground shaking._

_The horrific sound of flesh being sliced, and then a human hand was falling into the cauldron, the tendons and muscles severed…the bone sticking out like some sort of T-bone steak. Blood dripping from the stump, staring in horror as Wormtail approached with the dagger._

_Screaming in agony as both his scar and his arm burned from the inside out. Cedric, lying prone on the floor. Was he dead?_

'…_please let it be dead. Please.'_

_A skeletal man emerging. 'Robe me.' Scarlet eyes boring into his own. Burning from the inside out. Eating his soul._

Harry woke with a start, sweat pouring down his face. He gasped for a moment, before leaping out of bed. He flew across the hall in seconds, heading for the one place he knew he'd feel safe again.

He opened the door, his body still shaking from the nightmare, and hurried to the side of the bed. "Cedric!" He whispered, tears sliding from his emerald eyes.

"Harry?" Cedric groaned, blinking blearily. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"I didn't mean it Ced," Harry said quickly, wiping the tears away with a shaky hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Cedric sat up quickly, his arms quickly finding their way around Harry's shaking shoulders. "Shh I know Harry. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

"It's not okay!" Harry sobbed into Cedric's shoulder. "Voldemort's going to find me and I'm not ready! He'll kill me Ced, I can't win. Why did it have to be me? Why couldn't Neville have been the one? Why me!"

"No one can answer that Harry," Cedric said softly. "But for some reason it _is_ you, and you _are_ strong enough. You may not be ready right now, but one day you will be. When you're an adult – actually an adult, not legally. When you're in your twenties or thirties and you _will_ be ready."

"But he's not gonna wait till I'm thirty! He's doing it _now._ Dumbledore wants me to be ready _now_ but I'm not – I'm only seventeen! How can he expect me to defeat a dark lord when I'm only seventeen? Dumbledore was in his fifties when he killed Grindelwald. It's not fair!" Harry cried, becoming more hysterical by the minute.

"I know it's not fair Harry." Cedric murmured. "It's not fair and it's not right for them to expect that of you. But you _will_ be ready. Everything will be okay. _You_ will be okay."

"But I won't! I-I have to go to school tomorrow-" He broke off as he started to cough, almost choking on his own tears. "With-without you! And it's not gonna be okay!"

"It will, Harry, it will. You can do this." Cedric said, pulling back to make eye contact.

"But what if I have an anxiety attack and you aren't there to help me? What if I get dizzy from my scar and you're not there?" Harry muttered, wiping the slowing tears from his eyes.

"But I will be there, remember? As soon as you need me, I'll be there. As soon as you feel anxious or upset or dizzy you just call me and I'll be there in a heart beat, Harry. Before you can even say my name I'll be right there by your side. And Siri and Remy will be back soon so they'll be here for you too. We all will." Cedric said, still rubbing Harry's back comfortingly.

Harry sighed, wiping his eyes once more. "I'm such a baby. I'm seventeen and I'm crying like a four year old." He grumbled, causing Cedric to smile slightly.

"You _know_ it's not your fault Harry." Cedric murmured. "You can't help it when you get anxious. You just gotta remember to breathe, okay?"

"Mkay." Harry said, yawning widely.

"You wanna stay here tonight?" Cedric asked, knowing he would.

"Yeah." Harry sighed, wiggling under the blankets next to Cedric. "Night Ced."

"Goodnight Harry."

…---…

Harry awoke with a feeling of dread. The moment he returned to consciousness, he knew what day it was. His first day at Forks high school. His first day at a school full of people he didn't know _without_ Cedric by his side to calm him down. To say he was worried, was a definite understatement. So when Cedric came to make sure he was awake to get ready for school, Harry did the only thing he could think of.

"Uggh Cedric…" He moaned, glazing his eyes a little.

"What is it Harry?" Cedric asked, worry practically radiating off the older teen.

"The dizziness is back..." He groaned, rubbing his head. "From my scar…And my chest is really sore."

Cedric rushed over and felt Harry's head. "Well you're not hot, so it isn't an infection…but we definitely have to tell Dumbledore about the dizziness."

"No!" Harry said, a little too quickly. "No…" He moaned, "I might be wrong…maybe the dizziness is just part of whatever illness I have…" He trailed off, coughing loudly.

"What hurts the most Harry?" Cedric asked, his eyes shining with concern. "Your head?"

"No…my chest." Harry wheezed. "Like, maybe my lungs…" Another cough thrown in for good measure.

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Your lungs?"

"Yeah…my lungs. Maybe one collapsed or something…like on Grey's Anatomy last night?" Cough.

"You think your lung collapsed? Cedric asked, his eyes widening in fear.

"Yeah…" Harry rasped.

"Oh my God! I have to call an ambulance…" Cedric turned to rush out of the room.

"No!" Harry shouted. "My lung didn't collapse it's just filled with fluid!"

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up Harry, I'm not playing this game anymore. Get out of bed, you're going to school." Harry gaped as he strode out of the room.

"Damn…" Harry muttered.

"And no more watching medical dramas!" Cedric shouted from down the hall.

"You're not my parent, I can watch whatever I want!" Harry snapped before pulling himself dejectedly out of bed. This day was going to be hell. Absolute hell.

**A/N: Just a couple of important things to say.**

**I forgot to mention that Cedric is around half a year younger then he is in cannon. I'm not sure of his exact birthday but in this fic he is born in December, so he's in the seventh year when Harry is in the fifth year, but he's only about two and a half years older instead of three. **

**Also, once again, this is not a Harry/Cedric story. They are like brothers, not lovers.**

**Also wanted to say that several people have said "Wtf?? Why u send them on the run r u a crack pot that make no sense!" To clarify. **

**This is a cross over. Therefore I needed a reason fro them to, well, cross over. So I sent them on the run. Honestly how else would I get them to Forks? This is exactly why I need a Beta. See below.**

**BETA READERS: I'm looking for a fast, ****reliable**__**Beta who I can send my chapters to before I post. This will slow down the updating process, but hopefully it will provide you with a better story. To try and minimize the delay, I'm looking for someone who has a lot of time on their hands and can send me back the edited chapter quickly.**

**Also, they need to be able to provide me with motivation and idea input! :P I am notorious among my readers for losing motivation for a story and just dropping it. I need someone to kick me in the butt when I haven't written new chapters and keep me focussed. Also, I need help with ideas for the story. Pairings, etc. And someone to find all my many holes and help patch them up. **

**OH and I'm Australian. So I need someone who can correct me when I say stupid Australian terms or whatever. Please mention in your review or PM me if you are interested and I will choose someone. Thanks guys!**


	3. Hell

**A/N: Another AU change – Bella came a year earlier. So she's only in the eleventh grade now, though she's been in Forks for a year. Also, another thing is Bella is not with Edward in this fic. They WERE together, but they mutually broke up and stayed friends. Bella is considered like a sister to the Cullens. BUT it also probably won't be Bella/Harry so don't get too many ideas. I'm currently thinking Harry/Edward (But not straight away.) and Cedric/Bella. So then slash fans get what they want and slash haters have a non slash pairing in there too. ;) Also lots of first POV in this chapter, mostly because it's easier to do feelings and emotions that way.**

**Eh, also just wanted to warn everyone that I don't believe in that 'repeating the scene you just read in someone else's pov' thing. It bores me to read and it bores me to write. If a characters feelings in a particular scene are important, then they will be made known in another scene. **

**ALSO I would like to give a huge thank you to my new Beta, LadyBlackMagic, who Beta'd this chapter. She found so many mistakes it was actually quite embarrassing x.x **

**Chapter three: Hell…or not.**

_Harry's POV._

I knew as _soon_ as I saw the school, that I wasn't going to fit in. The first proof of this, was the parking lot. Lots of old, dusty cheap 50-60's cars. Not many shiny new ones. With the exception of one silver Volvo, there was not one expensive car in the parking lot.

This was definitely a major problem. Why? Because Sirius had a thing for fast cars. So I was currently sitting in the passenger seat (Which was on the wrong side might I add) of a shiny new Volkswagen Bugatti Veyron, which cost nearly two million American dollars.

This is where I get confused. Sirius thought that buying first class plane tickets would stand out too much…and yet he bought a car that would stand out _anywhere_, let alone in a tiny little town called Forks. But, whatever, that's Sirius for you.

So that was my first problem. I briefly considered telling Cedric to park the car around the corner and just walk to the school…but that idea went out the window when I noticed there was already a crowd staring at the car.

"Oh fuck Cedric. This was such a bad idea." I muttered, banging my head against the (bullet proof and perfectly tinted) window.

"You'll be fine, Harry." Cedric said with a sigh that suggested this was the millionth time today he'd said that. Which, come to think of it, it probably was. Cedric pulled into a parking space and turned to face me. "C'mon time to get out."

I resolutely crossed my arms over my chest. "I changed my mind." I muttered, glaring at the older teen.

"Go, Harry." Cedric said with a smirk and a swat to my head. "And remember, I'm just a phone call away."

"Yeah whatever." I muttered, before opening the door and jumping out before I lost my nerve. I took a deep breath and waved Cedric goodbye, before striding towards the pathway leading to the office. I did my best to ignore the stares which, thankfully, seemed to be more focussed on my car then on me. At least the school was small, so the maximum amount of stares I (or my car) could be getting was three-hundred and fifty-seven. That was somewhat of a comfort to know.

I followed the signs and found the office where I was given my 'schedule' and map. Schedule was new – In Australia it was a timetable. Oh well.

I checked my schedule, and found that I had English with 'Mason' in building three. Right. I glanced at the map then back up at the buildings. Which one was number three?

"Excuse me," I almost jumped out of my skin at the voice behind me before spinning around to face it. A pretty girl with long brown hair smiled back at me as I stared. She was pale, but it suited her well and made her pretty brown eyes stand out. "Are you lost?" She asked, still smiling comfortingly. I must have been exuding nervousness, because she was projecting calmness as if I was some kind of wild animal ready to bolt at any second.

"Uh…yeah. Just a little." I muttered, glancing to the floor.

She nodded. "It's hard at first, but you'll get used to it. I'm Bella Swan." She held her hand out invitingly, causing me to shake it warily.

"Harry Black." I answered, feeling a little more at ease when nothing horrible appeared to happen.

"I know. We've known there was a new student coming, so the Administrator asked me to show you around. Because we're in mostly the same classes, you know." She said with that disarming smile.

That was great – she was only helping me because she had to. Hopefully she will grow bored and leave me alone.

"C'mon I'll take you to your homeroom."

…---…

The first few classes went surprisingly well. The girl, Bella, was actually very helpful and I didn't end up getting lost with her assistance. As it became closer and closer to lunch however, I became a little worried. This girl was nice, but that was only because she _had_ to help me. She probably doesn't want me intruding on her and her friends at lunch…which begs the question, where will I sit?

I ended up just lining up for my lunch and then making my way over to an empty table. I hadn't yet sat down yet, when Bella waved me over. My eyes widened slightly as I took in the five people she sat with: They were gorgeous. All of them. Easily the most attractive people I had ever seen. Suddenly, I was far too nervous to go and sit over there. I shook my head slightly at her before sitting down. There was no _way_ I was sitting there – I already don't fit in here, let alone with a bunch of supermodels or whatever they were.

Bella sighed and whispered something to her friends before picking up her tray and, curiously enough, coming over and sitting next to me. "You don't want to sit with my friends?" She asked as she sat, placing her tray in front of her. "They're really very nice people." She said with a smile.

"I'm sure they are." I muttered. "They're…well, they're incredibly attractive."

"Yeah they get that a lot." Bella said, waving her hand a little. I was content to just eat in silence…but apparently Bella wasn't. "So how are you liking Forks? You're from Australia, right? It must be pretty different here…"

I shrugged. "I was only in Australia for a few months. I was born in England and lived there until a few years ago, so no…it's not really that different here." That effectively ended that line of questioning. After several more minutes of silence, she broke it again.

"You're not really one for conversation, hey?" She asked with a small smile.

"No." I answered shortly. She glanced at me curiously. "I don't really get along well with people." I muttered.

"I'm sorry you think that." She said, shaking her head. "You seem perfectly fine to me." I shrugged, ducking my head.

"Whatever." It was one of my favorite phrases.

"Well, you should come sit with me and my friends tomorrow. They really aren't really that good with people either – maybe you guys will get along." She said with a smile, before picking up her tray. "I have Chemistry next but you have Biology – do you think you'll be able to find it?"

"Sure." She nodded, turning away. "Hey listen," I called her back hesitantly. "Thanks. For the help, and for sitting here….Just, thanks."

"No problem."

---…---

I entered Biology with a slight feeling of trepidation. So far, I'd had someone to sit next to, eliminating the 'where do I sit?' problem. But not in Biology. Thankfully, the teacher was merciful and assigned me a seat. I sat down at the desk, placing my books on the table before turning to the person next to me. It was one of the boys from Bella's table.

"I'm Edward." He said, offering his hand. He was, of course, very attractive. He was tall with untidy-yet-still-styled reddish-bronze hair. Actually, now that Harry saw him up close, he looked a _lot_ like Cedric. A slightly hotter, paler, red headed Cedric. "Edward Cullen."

"Harry Black." I said, shaking his hand for a moment before pulling away. I frowned at him for a moment – there was something about him…some sort of strange feeling I got. He must have noticed my staring, for he pointedly raised an eyebrow at me before turning back towards the front of the room.

"Sorry." I muttered quickly. "You just look a _lot_ like my brother. It's kinda weird." I quickly looked away and focused back to the front of the room, before starting violently as I felt a touch on my mind. I slammed my occlumency shields I had spent the last two and a half years learning into place before glancing around trying to find the intruder.

No one was even looking my way, nevermind directly into my eyes. Although Edward was now giving me a curious look as I continued to stare wide eyed around the room. I sighed, turning back to my work. I must have been imaging things…it's the only solution.

Nevertheless, I didn't let my shields down again.

…---…

Edward waited stoically by the Volvo, with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. His mind kept replaying the scene in Biology with the strange new kid – he had gotten the smallest glimpse into Black's thoughts before his mind had closed off completely. It was strange and disconcerting as it had never happened before.

He glanced up as his siblings walked over and jumped into the driver's seat and waited. With the exception of Bella Swan, he had never been unable to read someone's mind. And the fact that Black's mind was _there_ and then it just disappeared – well, it was strange.

"What's up Edward?" Jasper asked after a few moments of driving in silence. "You've got some weird feelings coming off of you."

"It's nothing." Edward muttered.

"Don't worry." Alice said with a smile, reaching over to pat Edward's shoulder. "It all turns out okay."

"Whatever you say." Edward sighed before frowning as he recalled the glimpse he'd gotten into Black's head. "I really do look like him…" He muttered.

"Look like who?" Emmett questioned loudly. "Not all of us are mind readers Ed." He grumbled.

"The new kid's brother." Edward answered. "I thought he was just saying it to excuse his staring…but I really do look a lot like him."

"Weird." Emmet commented, already losing interest.

"Yeah…it's definitely weird." Edward muttered.

---…---

"Did you have a good day?" Cedric asked as the two drove home that afternoon.

Harry shrugged, staring out the window. "It wasn't…so bad." Harry finally admitted. "Could've been worse."

"Did you make any friends?" Cedric questioned as they pulled into the driveway.

"One…maybe. A girl named Bella. She sat with me at lunch and in most of my classes." Harry answered as he swung the car door shut.

"That's good!" Cedric said with a smile. "You should invite her over."

"Yeah maybe." Harry muttered, unlocking the door. He dumped his bag in his room before returning to the kitchen. "Anything from Siri and Remy?" Harry asked as he took a seat at the table.

"No." Cedric sighed. "I called Sirius' mobile but he refused to say what they were doing and why it's taking so long. I think something big is going on in Britain."

"And, of course, they won't tell us anything." Harry grumbled.

"Of course." Cedric sighed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before Harry sighed. "Forks is boring."

"Agreed." Cedric said with a nod. "At least you have school. I did a grand total of nothing all day."

"Boring."

"Yep. Boring." Cedric muttered, grabbing his keys off the table.

"Where you going?" Harry asked, his head shooting up from where it had been resting on his arms.

"Grocery shopping. Coming?"

Harry nodded, jumping off his seat. "Do you have a list?"

Cedric shrugged. "What's the point? We need like, everything."

"True." Harry muttered, jumping into the passenger seat. "I hate moving."

An hour later, they were still in the supermarket. "Do we need toilet paper?" Harry called from across the store….which wasn't really a feat – it was a very small supermarket.

"Yep." Cedric called back before catching the super pack of toilet paper Harry threw at him. "Good thinking. I would have completely forgotten."

Harry shuddered. "Yeah…then we'd be in trouble."

"Harry?" Harry turned to see Bella standing in the next isle, a smile on her face. _Is she ever _not_ smiling?_ Harry thought, before greeting her.

"Hey, Bella."

"Do you live near here?" She asked, falling into place next to him as he continued to walk down the aisles.

"Yeah. Just down the road a little." Harry answered. "You?"

"Around the corner. We must live pretty close." She said, smiling warmly. "Is that your brother?" She asked, glancing over to where Cedric was talking to himself as he stared inside the fridge in the frozen section.

"Yep." Harry answered.

"He looks like Edward." She said with a curious glance. "Oh, you wouldn't know him –"

"I know him." Harry interrupted. "I sat next to him in Biology."

"Oh, cool." She said, nudging him in the ribs. "You should sit with us then, if you know Edward too."

"Oh…I dunno." Harry glanced away. "I don't think he liked me too much."

She shrugged. "Sometimes he just comes across that way. I remember when I first met him I was convinced he hated me. But really, he just wasn't feeling too well."

They met up with Cedric a few minutes later, who was still talking to the fridge. "Oh Harry thank God!" He exclaimed. "Potatoes or pumpkin? I can't decide!"

Harry shrugged. "Just get both."

Cedric's eyes lit up before he snatched both out of the freezer. "Excellent idea Harry." He said before throwing them into the over loaded trolley.

"Cedric, this is Bella Swan. Bella, my brother Cedric." Harry introduced politely

"Hi, Bella." Cedric said with a smile. "Now come on Harry, we've gotta go. I'm missing Desperate Housewives." Harry rolled his eyes, before following Cedric.

"Seeya Bella."

"Bye Harry."

…---…

The next day was a lot easier. Only half as many people stared at his car and it didn't seem like he was the main focus anymore. He met up with a cheerful Bella almost as soon as he got out of his car and they walked to their first class together. She had finally managed to convince him to eat lunch with her and her friends, and so here he found himself walking across the cafeteria with her approaching the table full of supermodels.

"Guys, this is Harry." Bella said as they arrived. "Harry, this is Emmet-" She pointed to the big muscled one, "-Jasper,-" The smaller blond, "-Alice,-" The smaller dark haired girl, "-Rosalie,-" The tall blond who looked the most like a supermodel, "-And of course you know Edward." Harry nodded, giving a little uncomfortable wave.

"Hi." He muttered, before being pulled down next to Bella.

It was silent for a few moments before Bella, sensing his unease, began a conversation with Emmet. Harry just observed as the six began a conversation around him, happy not to participate. This was admittedly the biggest group he'd ever been in at _any_ school (Including Hogwarts and pre-Hogwarts primary school) so it took some getting used to.

The conversation jumped from several topics from sports, to classes, and now they were discussing 'Esme' (Whoever that was) and hew new car. Suddenly The big one (Emmett?) turned to Harry curiously. "What about your car, Harry? I saw it in the parking lot. It's a Bugatti Veyron, right?" Harry nodded silently. Emmett whistled. "Now that's a good car. I wanted to buy one, but Carlisle said it was too flashy." He shook his head regretfully. "Your parents must be pretty cool, buying you that?"

"Uh…" Harry muttered. "Well it's me and my bother's car. But yeah, my uncle's really into cars."

Bella rolled her eyes. "So are these guys. Don't get them started on whose car is faster…"

"Mine, of course." Emmet interjected.

"Yeah sure Emmet, you wish." Edward growled.

"Well Harry's car beats the crap out of both of yours." Alice said with a grin. "So I wouldn't get started you two."

All in all, the lunchtime was progressing better then he'd thought. The blonds, Rosalie and Jasper, didn't seem too inclined to join in once Harry was a part of the conversation, but the others seemed nice enough. As they talked Harry learned that all five of them lived together with Dr. Cullen and his wife, Esme.

"That's really nice of them." Harry had commented. "To take in so many kids."

"Yeah, they're great people." Bella agreed.

Harry had taken an almost immediate liking to Alice, the dark haired girl. She seemed the most comfortable of Bella's friends to talk to him – she acted as if they were already friends.

"So you live with your uncle then, Harry?" Alice asked once they had gotten onto the topic of family.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, my two uncles and my brother. My uncles are in Britain for business though, so right now it's just me and my brother."

"That must be cool." Bella said. "Your brother seemed nice."

"Yeah he is." After that the conversation moved on again, until finally lunch was over. The rest of the day went smoothly, and Harry found himself in good spirits when Cedric picked him up.

"How was school?" Cedric asked as he climbed into the car.

"Good." Harry said. "I made some more friends, I think."

"Really? Tell me about them." Cedric said, happy that Harry was finally socializing.

"They're Bella's friends really, but one of them, Alice…she was really nice. I think she's in my English class too." Harry said. "There were five of them – they all live together with Dr. Cullen. I think they're all adopted. I sat with them at lunch."

"Sounds like you had fun?" Cedric asked, turning to look at Harry as they stopped at the lights.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry agreed. "What did _you_ do?"

Cedric's face darkened as he stared grimly at the road in front of him. "I spoke to Sirius. There's definitely something happening in Britain…and he won't tell me _anything_."

"You think…it's Voldemort?" Harry asked, his eyes widening.

"…Maybe." Cedric sighed. "I don't know, but it's definitely something."

"Well…" Harry paused. "If they're not telling us, maybe it has nothing to do with us. We're fine here, right? We won't have to move again?"

"I hope not, Harry." Cedric sighed. "I really hope not…"


	4. Secrets and Questions

**Chapter four: Secrets and Questions.**

By the end of the first few weeks, Harry had come to discover that English was his favorite subject. Not only was it one of the easier subjects, but both Bella and Alice were in his English class – so far his only two real friends in Forks. The three of them sat together at the back of the class, and so when the first assignment of the term came up they naturally chose to work together.

"Where should we meet to work on it?" Alice asked as they stood up to leave at the end of the last lesson on Friday.

"You guys could come to my house if you wanted?" Harry offered. "My brother's working so it would be quiet."

"Sure, sounds good!" Bella said enthusiastically.

"We'll come over later this afternoon and get started." Alice said happily. Suddenly, her eyes glazed over a little as she stared into the distance. "Oh no, I've got to be somewhere else. I'll see you this afternoon." Harry frowned after her as she left, before glancing to Bella with raised eyebrows.

"She's strange." He muttered. Bella just laughed and lead him out into the parking lot.

"I'll see you later Harry." She said, before waving and turning to her truck.

"Bye Bella." Harry sighed and sat on the curb, waiting for Cedric to arrive. Cedric had given up on sitting around all day and gone and applied for a job earlier the week before. He'd been hired at a DVD rental store and worked most days now. It wasn't like they needed the money – but Cedric had been getting rather bored sitting at home alone. Especially since Sirius and Remus weren't coming home any time soon.

This meant that he was working until four thirty most school days – leaving Harry to wait half an hour to be picked up. They could afford to just go and buy another car so Harry could drive himself home…but Harry didn't mind waiting the half an hour. It gave him time to think.

Today, however, he found himself joined by a certain good looking Cullen. "Oh, Hi Edward." Harry said as Edward took a seat next to him.

"Hi, Harry." He said with a sigh. "The others went home early, but I have to wait for Rosalie. She's doing some social club thing…" He shook his head. "Anyway, I saw you waiting here and thought I'd come say hello." He and Edward weren't exactly friends, but they still sat together in Biology and talked every now and then.

"That must get annoying," Harry commented with a chuckle.

"You have no idea." Edward said, rolling his eyes. "I tell you – living with girls…" He shook his head.

Harry smiled. "Well I wouldn't know."

"You're lucky, only having one brother." Edward sighed. "I could probably cope if it were just Emmet and me. But the girls…and Jasper. He can be just like the girls."

"Cedric can be a little girly…" Harry laughed before whispering, "He watches Desperate Housewives."

Edward laughed. "Ha! Alice told me _you_ watch Grey's Anatomy."

"Hey! I like the medical shows." Harry muttered defensively.

"Sure, sure." Edward shook his head. "You want to be a doctor?" Edward asked serious again.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. I doubt I'll get the chance. But if I could, I would."

"Why couldn't you?" Edward asked, his dark eyes glimmering slightly.

Harry shrugged, absently drawing lines in the dirt with a stick. "I probably won't end up going to college. I'll have to return to Britain eventually. Besides, I do horrible at school. I missed like, four grades." He muttered. "It's too hard to catch up because the work moves too quickly anyway. Even if I wasn't so far behind I don't think I'd be able to keep up."

"You missed four grades?" Edward asked curiously.

Harry nodded. "There were…circumstances. I went until the fifth grade in England and then didn't go back to a school until we were in France when I was fifteen."

"That must have been hard for you." Edward said with a sympathetic gaze. "You know, if you wanted I could tutor you some days after school. I've never had a problem with school…it kinda feels like I've already done it before it's so easy." Edward said with an odd sort of smile that made Harry feel like he was missing something.

Harry thought for a moment before nodding. "That would be great. Thank you." He said, meeting Edward's eyes sincerely.

"How about if I come over on Sunday? Would your brother mind?" Edward offered.

"Nah he's working almost all day Sunday, so that would be perfect." Harry agreed with a smile. "Thanks again, Edward. You didn't have to do this."

"Are you kidding?" Edward said with a laugh. "Alice loves you. If I hadn't offered myself she would have forced me to do it the moment she realised you were falling behind." The two laughed for a moment until a sharp voice interrupted.

"Edward! Hurry _up_!" Rosalie was standing by the Volvo with her arms crossed over her chest.

Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm coming, Rose." He called, before standing and brushing the dirt off his clothes. "I'll see you Sunday, Harry." He said, before turning to meet his irate sibling.

"Okay, bye Edward."

…---…

Later that afternoon, Harry was lounging on their comfortable white suede couch (That had finally arrived from Australia) half listening to the TV. He was expecting Alice and Bella soon – he hoped they hurried up and got there, because he was incredibly bored. There was nothing on the TV (You'd think with 300 channels there would be something to watch) and Cedric had gone to Port Angeles…whatever that was, leaving Harry with nothing to do.

When the doorbell finally rang, Harry sprang up from the couch to get it. He opened the door to find Bella waiting outside. "Hey, Harry." She said with a smile.

"Hey, Bella. Come on in." Harry said, opening the door.

"So where are we gonna do this?" Bella asked as she entered the house.

"Kitchen table I guess." Harry answered, gesturing for her to put the books down on the afore mentioned table. They just sat and chatted for a few minutes, until the door bell rang again. After letting Alice in, the three began working on their assignment. After a couple of hours they had made impressive progress…although Harry would admit the girls probably did more of the work then he did. Alice knew a surprisingly amount about the 1860's civil war – Harry on the other hand, knew nothing. Although he was a little suspicious at the way Bella kept smiling and laughing as if Alice's knowledge was part of some personal joke. Which, it probably was.

They left just after eight, and shortly afterwards Cedric arrived home. "Hey Ced." Harry called from his position on the sofa.

"Hey Harry." Cedric answered, dropping the keys onto the table before collapsing on the couch next to Harry.

"What did you do in Port Whatsit?" Harry asked, his eyes following the tennis match on the screen.

Cedric shrugged. "Not a lot. Just caught up with this guy I met the other day."

"Aww Ced, did you make a friend?" Harry said teasingly.

Cedric shrugged. "He works at the DVD place too, but only a couple of days a week. He's nice enough…he lives at that reserve place."

"What reserve place?"

Cedric shrugged. "There's some reserve thing around here somewhere, and Sam lives there." There was a moment of silence before Cedric added, "Oh, and he's like Remus."

"What, he's old and grey?" Harry asked blankly.

"Idiot." Cedric muttered. "No, he's a werewolf. Like Remus. Well…sort of like Remus."

"Oh." Harry said. "What and he just told you this?"

"No, Harry." Cedric sighed. "You can recognize a werewolf, if you know what to look for. And his kind are particularly distinctive."

"There's more then one kind?" Harry asked, sitting up straighter.

"Yes. The ones commonly found in Europe are like Remus – they only change on the full moon, and when they do change they are like actual wolves. Vicious, with no human mind. Ones like Sam are genetic werewolves. They are born with it and they can change at will and they also keep their human minds. They are distinctive even in human form, because they are typically huge and have particularly bad tempers."

"Right. You know a lot about werewolves." Harry muttered before turning back to the TV.

"I know a lot about magical creatures. My father works in the department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, remember?" Cedric prompted.

"Oh yeah. Amos." Harry commented while still focusing on the tennis. "I didn't like him. He said you were better at Quidditch then me."

"I _am_ better at Quidditch then you." Cedric scoffed.

"Oh yeah, in your _dreams_."

"_Luck _does not count as skill, potter. You're lucky. I, however, am skilled." Cedric retorted.

"Oh what, so _luck_ won me every game I ever played that _wasn't _interfered with by House elves, dementors or other injuries?"

"That doesn't leave you with many games." Cedric sniggered.

"Oh shut up. Besides, I beat you in the tournament." Harry sniffed.

"You did not! It was a _tie_." Cedric argued.

"Oh please – I was fourteen! The fact that we tied means I'm better then you."

"Whatever Potter. You just keep deluding yourself – see if I care." Cedric said, standing and stretching. He sighed, his face turning serious again. "Anyway, I'm going to be away tomorrow. I'm going to apparate to Britain and see if I can figure out what they're hiding from us."

"Ced…" Harry paused. "I don't know if that's a good idea. What if someone sees you?"

"No one will recognize a regular old dog, now will they?" Cedric said with a smile.

"I guess…" Harry sighed, thinking back to their animagus training. It had taken nearly two years (Although Sirius said that was impressive) of near constant animagus training before they'd managed it a year ago. Cedric was a brownish-grey wolfhound while Harry was a mostly black long haired Alsatian with a few tan points.

Sirius had thought that canine animagus forms would be the most inconspicuous – their forms were to be back up in case they were ever found. A potion had been developed that could change a persons rue animagus form into a certain species – it couldn't predict exactly what the form would look like, but if you took the canine animagus potion it would ensure that your form was some sort of canine.  
Harry often wondered what his true form would have been – but unfortunately once he'd taken the potion his form was altered for life.

"Will you be alright here if I go?" Cedric asked in concern.

"Sure." Harry waved him off. "I might go over to Bella's. But Ced…be careful. _Really_ careful."

"I will."

---…---

Later that night, Harry was rudely awakened by the shrill ring of his phone.

"Ugh Hello?" Harry mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

"Harry? Did I wake you?" Came Bella's voice.

"Yeah…" Harry groaned, flopping back against the head board.

"Oh sorry!" She squeaked. "I'll call you back later then –"

"Eh…don't worry. I'm already awake aren't I?" Harry sighed. "What do you want? You were at my place like, an hour ago."

"Yeah I know – you must go to bed early. It's only nine thirty." Bella answered a little edgily.

"I'm still not used to the time zone." Harry groaned. "What did you want?"

"Grumpy Harry." Bella teased. "Anyway, I wanted to invite you to come to Port Angeles with me and Alice tomorrow. Although if you're gonna be this grumpy don't bother." She said with a laugh.

"I'm always this grumpy." Harry muttered. "I don't _like_ people."

"Oh, are you in one of your moods Har?" Bella sighed. "Well I can see there's no use talking to you now. I'll call you in the morning. Bye."

Harry sighed, throwing the phone across the room. He didn't care if it broke – he could just buy a new one. Honestly, how could he possibly be in a good mood when Cedric was risking their lives (Well…maybe not their lives, but their lives _here_ at least) trying to get information on something they weren't supposed to know about?

He sighed, lying back against his pillows. And what was worse, now he _knew_ he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Damn phone. Damn friends. Damn Cedric.

…---…

_Bella's POV_

After hanging up on Harry, I quickly dialed another number. It only rang half a ring before it was answered. "I knew you'd call!" Alice said, sounding way overly excited even for her.

"Hey Alice." I said. "Listen, is Harry planning on coming tomorrow?"

"Gimme a sec…" There was a long pause, then a sigh. "Nope." She said. "At least, he hasn't made his mind up yet. He's a very indecisive person." She muttered.

"Damn." I sighed. "He's in a shitty mood – I didn't think he'd come. Maybe I should have waited till morning to call."

"You never know with Harry." Alice said with a laugh. "Especially since Edward can't get anything from him."

"He can't?" That was new.

"I thought he told you." Alice said. "Oh well he must have forgot. Yeah, he can't see into his mind. But it's not like with you – with Harry he sees a tiny glimpse of whatever Harry is thinking about, before Harry's mind closes off. Edward said it was like some sort of shield. I think whatever it is may also affect how I see his future – I only ever see anything about Harry _right_ before it happens."

I sighed lying back on my bed. "Yeah…he's a weird one alright. Anyway, thanks Alice, I'll see you tomorrow. Call Harry in the morning and see if he'll come?"

"Okay Bella. Bye."

"Bye."

---…---

Harry had been right. After the phone had interrupted his sleep, he had found himself unable to fall asleep again. Cedric had already apparated to Britain, leaving Harry alone in the house. It was around midnight when Harry finally had enough of staring at the ceiling and decided to go out for a walk.

There was a forest near by and he hadn't been in his animagus form for _months_. It would be nice to go for a run under the stars.

An hour later he stopped, panting, at the edge of a small stream. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth as he panted; he pulled it back inside his mouth as he lowered his head to drink from the stream. A soft noise from behind him had his ears flicking, his head turned to face the sound.

He couldn't see anything and the forest was silent once more. He was about to lower his head back down to the stream, when a huge black shadow stepped out of the trees.

It was a wolf, but it was like no wolf Harry had ever seen. It _had_ to be on steroids – not even Remus was this big when…suddenly, it clicked.

The werewolves Cedric had been talking about – the genetic ones. This had to be one of them. Harry whined, his ears going flat against his head. The dog part of his mind wanted to run – the larger wolf was staring at him predatorily.

There was a small sound and then, in the blink of an eye, the wolf was not alone. At least four other huge wolves were now standing behind the first one. Harry backed up a few steps and hoped these wolves weren't cannibals. When it didn't look like they were going to follow, Harry took off, bounding back through the woods. He didn't know what those werewolves ate, but he wasn't going to stick around and find out.

By the time he got out of the forest, his body was pumped full of adrenaline. He quickly changed back into human form and found that he was still just as hyped up. His nerves were running so high, that when someone stepped out of the shadows in front of him, Harry nearly had a heart attack.

He shrieked and jumped backwards, his heart thumping and his eyes were wide with fear. "Relax Harry! It's just us!" It was Alice. Peering into the darkness, Harry could now that that it really was only Alice and Edward.

"Oh my God, you scared the crap out of me!" He exclaimed, smacking Alice on the arm. "What the hell? Were you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"No Harry…we were just out for a walk and when we saw you we decided to come over and say hi…" He found it hard to concentrate on what Alice was saying – the memories of the wolves still plaguing his mind.

"I'm gonna go home." He said, interrupting whatever Alice was saying. "See ya tomorrow Alice." He muttered, before walking down the street, leaving a worried Alice and a surprised Edward behind.

…---…

"Alice!" Edward hissed as soon as Harry was out of earshot. "I could read his mind!"

"Really?" She asked, shaking her head. "Because I still can't see his future…he's got to be the most indecisive person-"

"He saw the wolves!" Edward hissed. That caught her attention.

"What?" She said sharply.

"The wolves! I saw it in his mind. He was in the forest and he saw the werewolves. That's why he was so freaked out." Edward explained, running his hand through his hair. "It's like, whatever shield was blocking his mind was gone for a few seconds. But when I tried to look closer at the memories the shield snapped down again."

"He saw the wolves?" Alice exclaimed. "What did he think? Does he suspect something?"

"I don't _know_!" Edward growled. "Like I said, when I tried to look closer the shield came down."

"I'll try and find out tomorrow…" Alice trailed off. "Wait, him saying 'I'll see you tomorrow' that means he's coming, right?"

Edward shrugged. "How should I know? You're the seer."

Alice paused, concentrating hard. "Yes." She said with a smile. "He's made up his mind – he's coming to Port Angeles tomorrow." She glanced at Edward. "You come too. That way, if the shield drops again, you can see what he thought about it."

"Alright." Edward agreed. "But I'm going to his house on Sunday anyway."

"You are?" Alice blinked.

"Yeah…tutoring, remember?" Edward prompted.

"Oh yeah." Suddenly, she paused, looking into the distance. After a few moments, she smiled. "You'll get answers on Sunday."

"Will I like the answers?" Edward asked dryly.

Alice shook her head with a sigh. "I don't know. Harry's future is particularly hard to read. All I know is that you'll have some answers after Sunday."

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! It was incredibly heart warming to wake up this morning and find like, 30 reviews in my inbox :D So thanks! Reviews definitely make me update faster.**

**Also, thanks again to my Beta LadyBlackMagic, who Beta'd this chapter :D**


	5. Relizations

**Chapter five: Realization**

Harry glared out the kitchen window, shivering just at the thought of going out in all that rain. He already had a headache and he knew spending the day shopping would not help. He had finally decided that he just wasn't going to bother with Port Angeles, when the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey Harry! It's Alice." She sounded excited.

"Hi, Alice." He said dully. No doubt she was going to try and convince him to come.

"Are you coming?" She demanded. "Because Bella said she didn't think you were, but I was sure you were going to come…but now I'm no so sure so I just thought I'd check."

"No I'm not coming." He said firmly.

"What? Why! You _have_ to come; it will be no fun without you Harry."

"Have you seen the rain? I'm not going out in that."

"Oh come on Harry, the rain is _not_ an excuse. Not in Forks, anyway. It's raining _every_ day." She pleaded.

"It never rains _this_ much everyday." Harry grumbled. "I don't feel well. Besides, Cedric might come home early and he likes to know where I am." It was a lame excuse, and Harry knew it. He just hoped Alice didn't know it too.

"Where's Cedric?" Alice asked, actually sounding rather curious.

"Britain." He said without thinking.

Alice laughed. "Well then Harry, unless he's already on the plane, he won't be here for at_ least_ fourteen hours."

"He's already on the plane." Harry argued stubbornly.

"Oh come on Harry, please? It's not like you have anything else to do – you have to come with us at Port Angeles." Damn, she really wasn't giving up

"Actually, there's a House marathon on Arena. I'd much rather watch that."

"Harry, you're coming."

"No I'm not. It's the fourth season – I haven't got that one on DVD yet."

"Yes you are."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "It will start raining zebras before I come with you to Port Angeles."

…---…

Harry glared out the window as Alice drove (a little too fast for his liking) them to Port Angeles. It was going to be a long and boring day – he was not a girl. He was a boy. And he had no clue why these girls seemed to think that he would actually _enjoy_ spending the day shopping in Port Angeles.

"Is it raining zebras yet, Harry?" Alice teased, poking her tongue out at the disgruntled teen in the back seat.

"I hate you." He muttered, not lifting his gaze from the tree line.

"You'll thank me afterwards." Alice said confidently before turning back to face the road. Thank God. Anyone who drives that fast should be watching the road.

Unfortunately, his day did not get better. Once they reached Port Angeles he was dragged from one shop to another and after a couple of hours his head felt like it was splitting open. When they came to yet another fashion store, he blanched and glanced longingly at the bench sitting outside. "I'll wait for you out here." He said, sitting down on the bench. The girls shrugged before walking into the store.

Harry groaned, resting his head against the back of the bench. It wasn't very soothing, but it felt better then when he had been standing up. His clothes were wet from the rain, causing him to shiver a little. It was funny though, because he didn't feel cold. It must have been a humid day, because the air felt as hot as it did in Australia.

He wished the girls would just hurry up with their shopping already so they could go home. He was well and truly over their little trip. He sat up slightly as the shop doors opened and Bella and Alice walked out.

"Come on Harry," Bella said, pulling on his arm. "Where gonna go to one more shop then we'll have lunch."

"I don't feel well." Harry muttered, glaring at the girls.

"Oh shut up Harry, a little socializing won't kill you." Bella said pulling him to his feet. "Now let's go."

He took a couple of steps before stopping, clutching his stomach. "I..I _really_ don't feel well." Harry moaned, causing the two girls to turn.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, finally seeming to take him seriously.

Harry shook his head, his face almost as pale as Alice. "No...I…" His voice trailed off as he fell forward, Alice reaching him just in time to stop him hitting the ground. "Harry? Harry!" She turned him over in her arms to see that he was unconscious. "Bella! Call an ambulance!"

Alice lay him down carefully on the pavement, ignoring the crowd that was starting to gather. "Alice!" Bella hissed, causing Alice to turn. "He's bleeding – his mouth! Be careful." She whispered. Alice nodded understanding quickly and swapped places with Bella.

She pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed 911. "Hello? Yes, my friend collapsed. Port Angeles. Yeah his mouth is bleeding. I don't know. Okay." She hung up, before immediately dialing another number.

"Carlisle? It's Alice. Harry collapsed at Port Angeles he doesn't look good. Can you come? Thank you."

"What does the bleeding in his mouth mean?" Bella asked, looking panicked. "Because it's starting to bleed a lot faster."

"Internal bleeding." Alice answered grimly, holding her breath.

"That's…that's bad right?" Bella asked, her voice shaking.

"It can be." Alice whispered. "I don't know I can't _see_ anything." She said meeting Bella's eyes in fear.

"What do you mean? I thought you said you normally couldn't see anything form Harry." Bella asked quickly.

Alice shook her head. "No, normally I just can't see much. Only a flash. But now I can't see anything!"

"What does that mean?" Bella demanded.

"I don't know! Harry's special – it could mean something else. But….usually it means they don't _have_ a future…"

"Harry's gonna die!?" Bella shrieked, quickly beginning to panic.

"I don't _know!"_

"Alice!" A strong voice interrupted.

"Carlisle?" She turned to see her adoptive father approaching, Edward and Emmet close behind.

"How far out is the ambulance?" He asked quickly, bending over to check Harry's pulse.

"I don't know – they said soon?" Alice answered, shaking her head.

"Is he going to be okay?" Edward demanded, stepping forward. Suddenly, he glanced sharply at Alice. "You can't see his future? What do you _mean_?" He snapped, glaring at her.

"I don't know, I don't know _what_ it means!" Alice cried.

"Calm down. Okay, we'll take him in our car. Let's go!" Carlisle scooped Harry up off the ground, carrying him to the waiting car.

---…---

Cedric sighed as his phone rang in his pocket, hoping it was Harry. He knew Harry would be worried while he was in Britain – Harry was always worried. He pulled his phone out, pressing the little green button. "Hello?"

"_Cedric Black?"_

"Yes. May I ask who's calling?"

"_Dr. Cullen from Forks Hospital. Your brother collapsed today at Port Angeles – we have him here in the ICU but he requires immediate surgery to remove a perforated stomach ulcer. He's already lost a lot of blood and we just need your verbal consent as his current guardian before we can perform the surgery."_

"Oh my God!" Cedric cried. "Of course you have my consent. I'll be there in five minutes."

"_I was told you were in Britain?"_

"No my flight landed half an hour ago. Please do the surgery, I will be there as soon as I can."

"_Okay thank you."_

"Shit!" He cursed, before turning on the spot and apparating to America. Ten minutes later he was walking through the hospital doors, immediately questioning the nurse at the desk.

"I'm looking for Harry Black." He stated, twisting his hands nervously.

The nurse took a moment to find whatever information she needed, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black is still in surgery. You'll have to wait here until he's out of surgery. I'll have Dr. Cullen, Mr. Black's attending, inform you as soon as he's out."

Cedric sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay thanks." He glanced around the waiting room quickly spotting Harry's friend Bella amongst a crowd of teenagers.

"Bella." He said, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Mr. Black-" She said, turning in surprise.

"What happened?" He demanded. Over the next two and a half hours Bella had given him the whole story. They had been waiting for what seemed like an age, before an intern dressed in green scrubs approached them.

"Harry Black's family?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm his brother and temporary guardian." Cedric said quickly.

"I was sent to inform you that there was a complication during his surgery, and so it will be another few hours." She said clinically. As if she were talking about the weather.

"What kind of complication!" Cedric demanded, jumping up from his seat.

"When the ulcer perforated it caused a leak in the bowel. Dr. Cullen is doing his best to stop the bleeding and repair the damage. I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you." She said, before nodding and walking off.

It was a grueling few hours, but finally, they were approached again. "Mr. Black?" He asked, causing them to turn.

"Yes." Cedric said with a sigh of relief. "What happened? How's Harry?"

"We were able to stop the bleeding and repair the damage. He's going to be in a lot of post op discomfort for a couple of days, but he will eventually be fine."

Cedric nearly collapsed with relief. "Thank you." He whispered. "What…what made this happen?"

"Stomach ulcers are most commonly cause by poor diet and malnutrition. Has Harry ever been malnourished?" Dr. Cullen asked, looking mildly concerned.

"Yes, but not for years!" Cedric exclaimed. "He was mostly removed from that environment when he was eleven, and _completely_ removed when he was fourteen. That was three years ago."

"Stomach ulcers can grow inside a person and not be a problem for months, even years Mr. Black. It can be something as simple as sitting up too quickly that causes it to perforate out of the blue." Dr. Cullen explained gently.

"Oh." Cedric said with a sigh. "But it won't happen again? And Harry will be fine now?"

"Yes, he should be. There is of course a small risk of infection as with any surgery, but excepting those circumstances Harry will be fine."

"Thank you Dr. Cullen." Cedric said, collapsing into his seat. "Thank you so much." He paused for a moment, before glancing back up at the handsome doctor. "Wait, Cullen? You're his friend Alice's father?" Dr. Cullen nodded.

"Alice was there when he collapsed – she called me."

"Well thank you. And thank Alice for me as well. Can I see Harry now?" Cedric asked hopefully.

"Of course. The anesthesia will be wearing off in a couple of hours, I would say he should be awake by morning. I'll take you to him now."

…---…

Harry groaned as he awoke, unsure whether it was his head or stomach that hurt the most. He opened his eyes groggily to be met with a painfully white roof. Hospital.

"Harry?" He turned at the soft voice to see Alice sitting in the chair to his left. Edward was standing next to her, they had clearly been in the middle of a conversation when he awoke.

"What…what happened? What day is it?" Harry asked, his voice raspy.

"It's Sunday." Edward provided.

"You collapsed at Port Angeles. Turns out you had a stomach ulcer from malnutrition." Alice explained softly.

"Malnutrition?" Harry asked in confusion. "I eat properly."  
"Apparently it's been there for years. It perforated yesterday." Alice answered.

"Oh." Harry turned to look at his other side, where Cedric was sleeping in a chair. "Is he okay? He must have been worried…"

"He's fine." Edward said quietly, so as not to wake him. "And yes, he was worried. Everyone was."

"I feel weird." Harry murmured. "Like…light. Happy."

"That's the anesthesia." Alice said with a grin. "You'll probably feel like that for a while.

"I don't mind." Harry said with a sigh. "It feels nice. Like I'm completely worry free."

Alice exchanged a look with Edward, before turning back to Harry. "Say Harry, do you remember seeing any wolves the other night?" Alice asked carefully.

Harry smiled. "Yeah. They were big wolves."

"What did you think about the wolves Harry?" Edward asked, leaning forward a little. Harry wouldn't remember any of this conversation when the anesthesia wore off.

"They reminded me of Remy…only they were a lot bigger then him." Harry sighed.

"Who's Remy? Is Remy your dog Harry?" Alice asked curiously.

"No. Only every now and then. Otherwise he's just Remy…" Whatever Harry had meant by that was lost on the two Cullens as Harry fell back asleep.

"Weird." Alice muttered. "That basically told us nothing."

They were interrupted by a groan from the corner. Cedric stretched, opening his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked, staring foggily at the two teenagers.

"I'm Alice Cullen." Alice introduced, "and this is my brother Edward."

Cedric stared at the two of them for a moment, before something in his mind clicked.

_Pale skin. Dark eyes. Bruises under the eyes. Extraordinarily beautiful. Flawless. Vampires._

Cedric knew how to recognize a vampire. His father had taught him from a very young age all about dangerous magical creatures and how to recognize them. Veelas, Werewolves, Shape-shifters, Vampires…

And he was one hundred percent certain that these teenagers were vampires. Now that he thought back to it, Dr. Cullen had been screaming vampire too – although Cedric had been a little preoccupied at the time.

He stood up, staring fixedly at the two vampires. Edward and Alice – Harry had spoken of them fondly, particularly Alice. But there was nothing that could be done. Friends or not, Harry could not be allowed to socialize with vampires. "Could I talk to the two of you outside for a moment?" He asked making sure to keep his voice perfectly pleasant. His occlumency shields slid in to place as he walked out of the room, motioning for the vampires to follow him.

Edward exchanged glances with Alice before hissing, "Text Emmet. I can't see this guys mind either but he's screaming confrontation." The whisper was too low for the human to hear, but carried perfectly to Alice, who quickly slipped her hand into her pocket where her phone was hidden.

"What can we do for you Mr. Black?" Edward asked calmly once they were all in the hallway. What happened next shocked them both.

Cedric stared at Edward for a moment, before jumping forward and slamming the vampire into the wall. He flung out a hand to stop the approaching Alice in her path, freezing her in her place.

"What is this!" She hissed, unable to move for some unseen reason.

Cedric used his magically enhanced strength to pin Edward to the wall before leaning in and whispering in his ear. "If you don't leave my brother alone, I'll kill you. I know what you are, I know what you _eat_," He hissed, emphasizing the word with another shove. "Don't talk to him. Don't go near him. Keep your forsaken family _away_ from him."

"I'll talk to whomever I like, Black!" Edward hissed, before shoving the human off him. "I don't know what you are and quite frankly I don't _care._ I'm not scared of you." Edward growled.

Cedric tackled the vampire, magic making it possible to knock him down. Suddenly the two found themselves in a wrestling match – human against vampire.

"What's going on here?" A cold voice asked, before Cedric found himself thrown off of Edward. It was Dr. Cullen and another vampire – a strong, muscled teenager.

"Cullen," Cedric hissed turning to the doctor. "You saved Harry's life and for that I owe you. But I ask that you keep your family away from him. There's a reason vampires don't befriend humans – usually, the human ends up on the dinner table. Stay away from Harry." Cedric snapped, before apparating into Harry's room, grabbing Harry's in his arms, and apparating to their home.

**A/N: Eh – sorry for the delay. I actually forgot that this had already been sent back to me by LadyBlackMagic and sat there all day 'waiting' for the email to arrive. I'm so silly sometimes x.x**


	6. Crazy

**Chapter six: Crazy**

When Harry woke again, he was surprised to find himself in his own room. For some reason he remembered waking up in a hospital, and having an odd conversation with the Cullens about wolves. He was about to dismiss the memory as a dream, when he felt a throbbing pain in his abdomen. Sure enough, a glance under his blankets revealed a long line of sutures across his abdomen. So he _had_ been in a hospital.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up and smiled when he saw his brother in the doorway. "Hey, Cedric."

"How are you feeling?" Cedric asked, taking a seat on his bed.

Harry shrugged. "Fine. What time is it?"

"It's about seven thirty in the morning. Oh, and it's Monday." Cedric added.

Harry's eyes widened. "Ced! I'm gonna be late for school." Harry threw of his blankets, climbing out of bed carefully so as not to irritate his stitches.

"You can't go to school." Cedric said, standing with his arms crossed. "You had _surgery_ Harry!"

"I'm _fine_ and I want to go to school. I'm already far enough behind as it is." He grumbled.

"I don't want you to go. Actually, I want to move. I want us to move." Cedric said, his grey eyes boring into Harry's emerald ones.

Harry gaped at him silently. "Are you kidding? You must be joking. I love it here. I have friends, I like the school, I like the house-"

"It's dangerous here. The Cullens-"

"Shut up!" Harry interrupted sharply. "I do not want to hear it. Just shut up. Whatever you found out about them, keep it to yourself!" Harry snapped.

"You know?" Cedric gaped.

"No!" Harry yelled. "I don't know anything and I don't _want_ to know. I like them, I believe they are good people. I don't want to know their secret. I just _don't_."

"But you know that they're dangerous?"

"I _suspect_ that they _could_ be. I don't know anything and I don't want to know Cedric! Do whatever you have to do to keep us safe, but don't tell me anything about it. I _like_ the Cullens, Alice is my best friend and I _do not want to know_ alright?"

"Fine." Cedric hissed. "But from now on you are not getting out of my sight! You go to school and then come straight home." He snapped. He turned to walk away, before pausing. "When you get home…we have something important to talk about."

"Britain?" Harry gasped. How could he have forgotten? Cedric just nodded silently before leaving.

---…---

"Hey Harry," Bella greeted him as soon as he got out of his car. She'd called him that morning and asked how he was – he'd said he was fine and that he was coming to school, she'd insisted on meeting him the second he arrived.

"How are you?" She asked, sounding far more concerned then she needed to be.

"Fine." He muttered, before turning away and walking towards the school.

"Hey, wait up!" Bella called, rushing to catch up. "Hey, are you alright Harry?"

"I'm fine." Harry grumbled. "Stop worrying about me."

"Is it your stomach? From the surgery?" Bella asked, concern shining in her eyes. "Maybe you should go home."

"I'm _fine._" Harry bit out angrily.

"Seriously Harry, you shouldn't be at school one day after major surgery!" She exclaimed, grabbing his arm.

"It has nothing to do with the surgery, it's not even sore. I'm fine." Harry muttered as they walked into the building.

"Then what's wrong-"

"There's problems back home, Cedric wants us to move, Sirius and Remus aren't coming back…" He sighed, running a hand trough his hair. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait, your uncles abandoned you?" She just couldn't drop it.

"No, it's not like that. There's a family emergency in Britain-" That was sort of true, at least. "-and it doesn't seem to be wrapping itself up so we might have to go back there."

"What!" Bella exclaimed, causing a few people to stare at them oddly. "But you've only been here for a month!"

"Believe it or not, a month is pretty average for how long we usually stay in places." Harry muttered. "But don't get all worked up, okay? It probably won't happen." Bella didn't drop the subject. She continued to question him all through their morning classes, causing Harry to resolutely ignore her. Thankfully, by the time lunch rolled around she seemed to have decided to let it go for the time being.

"Hey, where are the Cullens?" Harry asked curiously as they sat at the empty table.

"I dunno." Bella said, sounding a little angry. "They go camping sometimes…but usually they tell me before they go. I haven't heard anything from them since you got out of hospital."

"That's odd…" Harry murmured, wondering if their absence had anything to do with whatever Cedric had tried to warn him about. As much as he really didn't want to know, he couldn't help being a little curious.

Bella shrugged, picking at her salad. "It's not the strangest thing they've done since I met them. They usually have a pretty good reason for doing things…who knows, maybe they really did just go camping." By the look on her face though, Harry doubted it.

…---…

The Cullens didn't show up for the rest of the week, and when they finally did on the Friday, it was only Alice. He and Bella had sat down at the table, when Alice silently joined them. She had given Harry a look that he spent the rest of the day trying to identify. Alice had been quiet and preoccupied through lunch and in English that afternoon. Finally, Harry had had enough of the strange looks and decided to interrogate her.

"What is it?" He asked quietly once Bella was out of earshot. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Alice paused for a moment before smiling widely. "No reason Harry. Sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind." At Harry's dubious look, she elaborated. "Emmet picked up a nasty flu during the camping trip and passed it on to all the others. Only Carlisle and Edward aren't sick and they're looking after all the others. Sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." She added apologetically.

"It's fine." Harry had answered, still feeling a little dubious. After that Alice had been perfectly normal…but he couldn't shake the strange feeling he had about the whole situation.

"Hey Harry, why don't you come with me to La Push after school?" Bella asked towards the end of the lesson. Their regular English teacher was away sick, leaving them with a substitute who basically just let them do nothing for the hour.

"Where's that?" Harry asked, looking up from where he had been doodling on a piece of lined paper. "Oh, that's the reserve place right? Cedric has a friend that lives there."

"Yeah." Bella nodded. "My friend Jacob lives there and I'm going down for a visit this afternoon. Alice is coming too, and Edward said he might…but uh, he and Jacob don't really get along. Anyway, you wanna come?" She asked, just as the bell rang.

"No...I better not." Harry muttered. "Cedric's a little over protective since the whole Port Angeles thing and he specifically ordered me to come straight home."

"That sucks." Bella frowned. "It's not like it was your fault."

"I know." Harry sighed. "But with everything happening in England I think he's just a little strung out."

"Oh well." Bella said. "I'll call you tonight – maybe we can do something on the weekend if your brother's okay with it?"

"Yeah maybe." Harry agreed. "Bye Bella." As Harry turned, he was surprised to see the calculating look Alice was once again giving him. He nearly called her up on it, when she suddenly smiled and waved at him.

"Bye Harry!" She called.

"Bye Alice." Harry shook his head, making his way to where Cedric was waiting in the car. Whatever was going on with Alice he hoped she got over it, and soon.

As Harry got into the car, he frowned as he noticed the dark look on Cedric's face. He followed Cedric's eye line to see it was Alice he was staring at. "I don't want you hanging out with her anymore." Cedric said, yanking his eyes away and pulling quickly out of the parking lot.

"Cedric, what-"

"I can't tell you without revealing what you _insist_ that you don't want to know." Cedric spat angrily. "I don't want you befriending them."

"You're not my father." Harry answered stubbornly, glaring at the trees through the window. "We're not even related. You can't tell me what to do."

"But I_ am_ in charge of you!" Cedric exclaimed. "_I'm_ the one who's been trusted with your safety."

"For now." Harry muttered angrily.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Cedric demanded.

"Well let's just say I won't be too upset when Sirius gets back." Harry snapped, his glare burning holes in the window.

"Sirius isn't _coming_ back." Cedric snarled, slamming on the breaks just in time to stop at the lights. "You're stuck with me. Get used to it."

Harry glanced up at that. "He's not coming back?"

"No. Neither of them are." Cedric's hands were white on the steering wheel.

"Just _what_ exactly is going on in Britain?" Harry demanded sharply.

"We'll talk about it later." Cedric answered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"No. Tell me _now_! It's bad enough that the adults are keeping everything from me – I would have thought that _you_ at least would tell me the truth!" Harry shouted, his emerald eyes darkening in anger.

"Damn it Harry! There are some things you just don't need to know-"

"What, and you _do?_" Harry demanded. "Forget it. Stop the car."

"What?" Cedric asked. "Stop it Harry, you have no idea where we are."

"I know exactly where we are. Stop. The. Car!" Harry shouted.

Cedric pulled over to the side of the road, slamming on the brakes. "Fine. Do what ever you like. Walk home. See if I care." Harry jumped out of the car and slammed the door as loudly as he could. Cedric was already driving away before the door had shut.

Harry sighed, pulling his coat tighter around his shoulders. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten the near constant rain that was currently falling. He glanced up at the darkening clouds, before shrugging and dismissing them. It only took them about fifteen minutes to drive to school and that was including the traffic. He figured if he walked fast enough he'd be home in under an hour.

Forty minutes later, Harry sat under the shelter of a roofed bus stop glaring out at the road. He was right around the corner from home, but as he got closer he found that he didn't really want to return just yet. "Might as well make him worry a little." He muttered with a small smirk. Besides – walking home less then a week after surgery probably hadn't been the best idea. His line of stitches was starting to ache a little from the effort. He sat there aimlessly for another half an hour or so, before pulling out his mobile phone. It only rang a few times, before a welcome voiced answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella." Harry greeted.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, sounding a little surprised. She had a right to be, Harry thought absently - he hardly ever called anyone. "What's up?"

"Are you still at that reserve place?" He asked, twisting a piece of grass around in his fingers.

"No, Edward and Jacob got into a fight, big surprise there, and we ended up coming home early." She answered, sounding a little bitter.

"Why did he go with you if he and your friend don't get along?" Harry asked with a mild curiosity.

"There's…some bad family history between the Cullens and the people who live at the reserve. Edward doesn't think it's safe for me to go there." Harry got the impression she was rolling her eyes.

"_Is_ it dangerous for you to go there?" Harry questioned. He briefly wondered if Edward knew there was at least one werewolf living there.

"Of course not." Bella scoffed. "Edward's just paranoid. So, is everything okay? It's not exactly like you to call." She said with a laugh.

Harry shrugged, despite her being unable to see it. "Would you mind if I came over? I had a fight with Cedric and-"

"Of course!" Bella exclaimed. "I've been inviting you over for weeks – it's about time you took up the offer." She paused, thinking over what he'd said. "Is Cedric still trying to convince you to move?" She asked, a hint of worry lacing her tone.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. "Among other things. Look, I'll tell you about it when I get there."

"No you won't." She teased. "But whatever you say. I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah…I'm fairly close. You live just down from the store, right?" Harry asked, standing up and stretching a little.

"Yep." She confirmed.

"Okay. See you soon."

"Bye Harry!"

Harry hung up the phone, sliding it back into his pocket. It was only a few minutes walk before he got to Bella's house, and knocked on the door softly.

"Hey." He said, as she opened the door.

"Hi Harry, come in." She invited, opening the door wider. Harry stepped into the house, pausing in the doorway.

"Oh…hi Alice, Edward." He greeted, nodding at the two Cullens seated on Bella's couch.

"Hey Harry!" Alice greeted warmly, patting the seat beside her. "Come sit." Harry complied obediently, fidgeting a little as he found himself the sole source of the other three's attention.

"So, how's your stomach Harry?" Edward asked after a few moments of silence.

Harry shrugged. "Fine, I guess. It started to hurt a little after walking but otherwise fine."

"You walked home from school?" Bella asked, sounding concerned. "In the rain, not even a week after you had major surgery?"

Harry shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal." He muttered, glancing away from the three pairs of curious eyes.

"I can't believe Cedric let you do that!" Bella exclaimed.

Harry shrugged again, his shoulders beginning to ache from the number of times he'd repeated the motion. "I told you, we had a fight. Neither of us were feeling particularly reasonable and I wasn't about to call and have him pick me up."

"Don't worry Harry," Alice said with an odd look in her eyes. "You two will make up. I'm _sure_ your brother's already decided to apologise as soon as you get home."

"You're probably right." Harry admitted. "He usually doesn't stay angry for long."

"Trust me, I'm always right." Alice said with a wide smile. She paused for a moment, doing that weird 'looking into the distance' thing she sometimes did. "Oh no." She said, jumping up. "I have to go. I forgot – Rosalie's planned a trick on Emmet that will _not_ end well. Bye guys, bye Harry." She said quickly, before rushing out the door.

"It's weird how she does that." Harry commented once the door had slammed shut behind her. "Don't you think that's weird?"

Edward and Bella shrugged in unison. "You get used to it." Bella said with a smile.

"And knowing Rosalie's taste in pranks, it really _won't_ end well." Edward added dryly. They were interrupted by the loud ringing on Bella's cell phone.

"Oh sorry," She said quickly, grabbing the phone off the table. "That's probably Charlie. I'll be back in a sec." She walked out into the kitchen.

Harry and Edward sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, before Edward put him out of his misery and said something. "We never did do that tutoring session." He commented lightly, causing Harry to look up. "You know, between you collapsing and my father having to cut you open."

"That's true." Harry laughed. "I think perforated bleeding ulcer trumps something as boring as studying for chemistry."

"So how about if I come over this weekend?" Edward asked, leaning forward a little. "Any perforated ulcers planned?"

"Thankfully, no." Harry laughed. "Your father assured me that there weren't any more hiding in there." His expression fell, however, as he thought of his brother. "I don't think so though. My brother…" Harry trailed off, taking in Edward's suddenly closed expression.

"Ah yes." He said simply. "He doesn't like us."

"It's not that-"

"Yes, it is." Edward interrupted. "I had a…chat with your brother at the hospital. He made his feelings clear. He didn't tell you?" Edward asked softly.

"He tried." Harry said with a shrug. "I didn't want to know."

Edward stared at him for a long moment. "He didn't tell you…anything?"

"No." Harry said carefully. "Whatever secrets your family has are your family's to share."

"But you know we have secrets?" Edward asked, leaning forward a little more.

"Yes." Harry agreed. "I've noticed certain things. I'm not _completely_ unobservant."

"What have you noticed?" Edward asked, curiosity shining in his dark eyes.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You really want to know?" Edward nodded. "Alright. You Cullens take the same food every day at the cafeteria, but never eat a bite of it. Whenever there's remotely nice weather you're all away from school. You're all pale, even for a place like this and you all constantly look like you need a good night's sleep. Despite that none of you are related, all five of you have almost exactly the same eye color, well colors I should say. Your eyes change from golden-brown to black, usually at the same time as each other but not always. And, of course, you're all incredibly good looking." By the end of all this Harry was panting, having said most of it in the same breath.

"You _are_ observant, aren't you?" Edward murmured with a tilt of his head. "But do you know what it all means?"

"No." Harry stared into those hypnotic golden eyes. "Are you going to tell me?"

Edward leaned back into the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not yet. Why don't you try and figure it out yourself?"

Harry shrugged. "Like I said – I don't really care for your secrets."  
Edward cocked his head to the side a little. "You're not at all curious?"

"Of course I'm curious." Harry scoffed. "But it won't kill me not to know."

"You are very strange." Edward said finally after a moment of silent scrutinizing. "Most people would be dying to know the reason behind all those abnormalities you mentioned earlier."

Whatever answer Harry was about to give was cut off by the arrival of Bella. "Sorry about that." She muttered, sitting back down on the couch apparently unaware of the conversation she had interrupted.  
"No problem." Edward said smoothly.

"I think I'm gonna go." Harry said, standing up with a sigh. "I've gotta get home – Cedric might actually end up calling the police." He grumbled. "Bye Edward, bye Bella. And thanks for letting me come over. It helped, I think."

"Bye Harry," Bella said warmly. "And it's no problem. You're welcome anytime."

"Yeah….see you, Harry." Edward said softly, a pensive look on his face.

**Important (And long, but please read) A/N:**

**Lots of questions in the last few reviews, so I'm gonna try answer them here. If anyone now asks me again (as most of these questions have been answered in A/Ns already) I'll be pissed because you obviously didn't read this.**

**Pairings:**** As I have already said, the pairings will be Edward/Harry and Cedric/Bella. Other then that, all cannon. (Jasper/Alice, Rosalie/Emmet, Carlisle/Esme, Remus/Tonks)**

**However **** none of the pairings will be graphic. I'm only like, fifteen – I'm not writing any sex scenes x.x**

**Training:**** As I actually have already mentioned (But whatever, I'll say it again) Harry and Cedric ARE being trained by Sirius and Remus. Obviously not currently, as the adults are absent, but both of them have been taught all of Hogwarts curriculum and more (Eg. Animagus training, occlumency etc.)**

**Magic use:**** They do use magic but not much when they aren't training – they have been living in the muggle world for three years and are used to doing things the ordinary way. The apparation in the hallway (which was empty save the vamps and ced btw) and the animagus use is proof that they can and do use magic, but not all the time.**

**  
****Knowledge:**** Cedric does not know about the vegetarianism. Most wizards would not even know that vegetarian vampires existed so Cedric just thought they were regular old vampires. Edward and Bella didn't see Harry coming out of his animagus form – Harry changed back to human before he exited the forest and they came around the corner and saw him after he was out of the trees. **

**My Mistakes That Caused Questions:**** I spelt New South Wales wrong, even though I'm Australian. Sorry. I actually did think it was named after actual whales. I screwed up Cedric's birthday – I said he was born in December to account for the fact he was only two and a half years older then Harry instead of three. This (I now realise thanks to a helpful reviewer) would mean Cedric wasn't eligible to participate in the tournament. Sorry about that – for now we'll just say the tournament accepted people who turned seventeen that year as well as already seventeen year olds, although the same champions were still chosen. **

……**aaand, I think that's it :D**

**Whew. That was long. See why I put it at the end? Otherwise you all woulda just skipped it. I really hope no one asks me those questions now – feel free to comment on the issues I mentioned, but if one more person asks me "Will it be Harry/Edward? Will it? WILL IT?!" I will seriously kill them. **

**THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS :D You guys make me happy! 3 And if I get 100 reviews for this chapter (Doubtful, but hey I can dream), I'll be so happy I'll update EXTRA fast :D I'm having trouble writing chapter seven, so I'm sure lots of reviews will greatly help with my motivation :D So go click the green button and tell me what you think – I want to hear from you!**


	7. News

**A/N: Neeeh I'm soooo sorry x.x I know I made you guys wait like, ages…but I DO have a good excuse. I wrote this chapter like, 3 days ago but then there was a massive power out cuz of the cyclones and I hadn't saved the original. So when the power came back on yesterday I had to rewrite the whole thing, and then I still had to send it to LadyBlackMagic for Beta'ing…so sorry! On a similar note, please don't expect updates as frequently as I have prevously been giving them. I go back to school tomorrow, so I'm gonna have significantly less time to write - It will most likely be a chapter every two or three days instead of one every day. **

**Chapter seven: News**

When Harry arrived home later that night, he opened the door to be met by an irate Cedric.

"Uh…hi." Harry said nervously, shifting his weight from one leg to the other.

"Where have you been?" Cedric snapped, "You should have been home hours ago!"

Harry shrugged slightly. "I went to Bella's." He said simply.

Cedric sighed shaking his head. "I was worried. You should have called or something."

"Sorry." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't think you would want to hear from me."

"No, I'm sorry." Cedric apologised quickly. "I shouldn't have tried to hide things from you – especially something this important, but I just didn't want you to have to worry about it." He admitted. "Will you forgive me?"

"Only if you tell em what's going on." Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay." Cedric agreed. "Let's go sit down." They made their way over to the couch, where they both sat a little awkwardly.

"I don't know everything," Cedric began, "Or even all that much…but from what I heard, Voldemort's been gathering one _huge_ army lately. It started out very under the radar, so none of the Order expected anything until Voldemort gathered them all at a death eater meeting for the first time and one of the order spies reported that the numbers had grown dramatically. Since then they learned that Voldemort's been recruiting dark wizards form outside of Britain, as well as certain magical creatures. That's why Remus and Sirius had to go to Britain – Remus is supposed to try and talk to the werewolves and convince them not to join Voldemort, but he's having a hard time of it. The ministry has treated werewolves horribly and none of them have forgotten….Voldemort has promised them freedom. He's also been recruiting vampires."

Cedric glanced over at Harry for a moment before continuing. "The order doesn't know how many vampires have agreed to join him, but they suspect its most of the ones that live in Britain. Vampires are dark in nature – they are probably the easiest for Voldemort to recruit because there are hardly _any _light sided vampires. Usually vampires keep out of human affairs – except for meal times, of course. So whatever Voldemort's promised them to get them on his side must have been pretty amazing." He glanced at Harry again,

"That's what I also need to talk to you about. Because of the vampires aligning with Voldemort, that makes them even more dangerous then usual. This is why you can't try and be friends with vampires, Harry."

"I don't understand." Harry muttered, studying Cedric in confusion.

"The Cullens, Harry." Cedric said softly. "They're vampires."

Harry's mind spun at the revelation, quickly piecing together the facts. "Oh." He said finally, breathing out quickly. "That…that makes sense."

Cedric nodded. "That's why you can't associate with them. This is why we should move. We have no way of knowing if they are willing to join Voldemort of not, and if they _are_ the risk of them finding out who you are and reporting it to him is too high."

Harry shook his head quickly. "No way. The Cullens…they can't be with _him. _They're good people."

"Harry," Cedric sighed. "What do vampires eat?"

"No." Harry muttered. "The Cullens wouldn't…"

"They're vampires Harry! Vampires live on blood. Human blood."

Harry shook his head. "I'm asking them." He decided quickly. "I refuse to believe anything until I ask them."

"What's going to stop them from lying to you?" Cedric pointed out.

"What about Bella?" Harry asked, his eyes widening in realisation.

"What?"

"Bella. She's not a vampire…but she's known them for over a year now. Why haven't they eaten her, then?" Harry asked quickly.

Cedric shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it would be too suspicious."

"And there haven't been any strange deaths or disappearances!" Harry exclaimed. "No reports of people going missing or bodies being found sucked dry of blood. If they were really eating people there would surely be some evidence of it. That settles it – I'm asking them."  
Cedric sighed. "Alright, fine. Ask them."

…---…

"Edward!" Harry called, causing the other teen to turn. It was the next Monday, and Harry was making good on his plan.

"Hey, Harry." Edward said, looking a little confused.

"Look, can I talk to you?" He asked quickly, glancing at the people within hearing distance.  
"Sure." Edward said, following Harry around to the side of the building. "What is it?"

"Are you a vampire?" Harry blurted out, unable to contain the question.

Edward look surprised for a minute, before smiling. "It didn't take you long to figure it out."

"Cedric told me." Harry admitted. "But more importantly. What…what do you eat?" He asked a little hesitantly.

Edward smiled. "My family are what we call 'vegetarians'. It means we don't drink human blood, we only drink animal blood. There aren't many others like us, but there is at least one other coven that follows the same diet."

"Oh." Harry sighed, releasing his breath. "Well…that's good, then." Edward looked like he was suppressing laughter. "What?" Harry said indignantly. "What's so funny?"

Edward shook his head. "Nothing. It's just…you don't care I'm a vampire, so long as I don't drink human blood?"

Harry shrugged. "I've seen things that are harder to believe."

"Oh really?" Edward said with a smirk. "Something stranger then a group of vampires pretending to be teenagers and attending the local high school?"

"How old _are_ you?" Harry questioned.

"Old." Edward replied with a smile.

"But _how_ old?" Harry persisted with a glare.

"_Technically_ more then a hundred. About one hundred and eight to be precise." Edward finally answered with an odd look.

"Oh. Well you look pretty good for a one-hundred-year-old." Harry said, before blushing slightly.

"Why thank you Harry." Edward said, looking like he was once again suppressing laughter. "You look pretty good yourself."

Harry blushed, quickly changing the topic. "So, you're whole family are vampires? And Bella? Does she know?"

Edward gave him a knowing smirk, before answering. "Yes. And, yes. Bella knows."

"She's…okay with that?" Harry asked.  
"Of course. She used to want to become one of us, but thankfully she gave up on that idea since an encounter with a few newborn vampires. She decided she didn't want to go through the first few years of uncontrolled blood lust." Edward answered. At Harry's confused gaze, he elaborated. "When vampires are first turned, we are called newborns. Newborns are particularly strong and their blood lust in usually completely uncontrollable."

"Oh." Harry nodded. "And the werewolves? What about them? Do they get along with the vampires?"

"You know about the werewolves?" Edward asked, before nodding. "Of course. So you knew what they were, that night?"

"What night?"

"You saw the werewolves in the forest a few weeks ago."

"You saw that?" Harry said quickly.

Edward shook his head. "No…well, not exactly. Vampires sometimes have some sort of extra talent – mine is the ability to read minds. I saw the werewolf encounter in your mind."

"You can read my mind?" Harry asked, looking a little shocked.

"Well…no." Edward admitted. "Not usually. But your mind was open for a little bit that night. Usually I can't see much because some sort of shield blocks your thoughts."

"Oh." Harry said, his eyes lighting up in understanding. _That_ was what the legilimency probe had been that first day in class. Edward had been trying to read his mind.

Edward studied Harry for a moment. "You're taking this surprisingly well." He commented.

Harry shrugged. "Like I said. I've seen weirder things."

"Like what?" Edward asked, looking curious.

"Well, my uncle Remus is a werewolf, for one. But he's a different sort to the La Push wolves – he can only change on the full moon and it's not an enjoyable experience for him." Harry debated whether or not to tell Edward he was a wizard, before deciding against it. He would eventually, but not right now.

"Wow." Edward said with a smile. "I guess this isn't so hard for you to understand then." Harry shook his head. There was a few moments of silence, before Edward spoke. "So…this doesn't change anything then? Now that you know, I mean."

Harry shook his head once more. "No. And I think, if you explained all this to Cedric, he'd be much happier about us being friends."

"Yeah good idea." Edward agreed. "Then we could finally have that study session." He said with a wink, leaving Harry wondering what he meant.

"Uh…yeah, sure." Harry stammered, blushing a little. They were interrupted by the ringing of the bell, reminding them that they had to get to class.

"I'll see you at lunch, Harry." Edward said with a smile, before turning and walking away.

"Yeah…bye."

---…---

Having finished their fourth period chemistry class, Harry and Bella were heading towards lunch when Harry's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Hello?" he said after pushing the green button quickly.

"Harry, it's Cedric."

"Ced? What is it?" Harry said with a frown.

"Sirius and Remus are here – you've gotta come home, they want to talk to us." Cedric said, sounding serious.

Harry stopped. "What's this about?"

"I'll tell you when you get here." Cedric said.

"If they want us to move then I'm not coming home." Harry insisted strongly.

"No." Cedric sighed. "Not now, anyway. Just come home, Harry."

"What about school?" Harry said stubbornly. "I'm already far enough behind – I can't afford to miss my afternoon classes."

"Fine." Cedric snapped. "I'll see you the second school finishes outside the front." The phone hung up with a click.

"Prick." Harry muttered, shaking his head.  
"What was all that, Harry?" Bella asked, sounding concerned.

Harry shrugged. "How should I know?" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Apparently my uncles finally got back from Britain. They wanted me to come home and 'talk.'"

"That's strange." Bella commented as they entered the cafeteria. "Why did you say they were in Britain?"

"Business." Harry said shortly, flopping into his usual seat at their table. Harry was unable to concentrate on the conversation at lunch; his mind was too busy worrying about the Britain situation. He barely made it through his afternoon classes, before hurrying out to the front of the school Cedric was already waiting impatiently in the Bugatti.

"Hey." Harry muttered, sliding into the passenger seat.

"How was school?" Cedric asked, trying to alleviate the tension.

"Fine." Harry shrugged. "Edward said the Cullens are all vegetarians. They eat animals, not humans." Harry commented.

"Oh." Cedric frowned. "I've never heard of that before."

"He said it was rare." The conversation ended there, with both too agitated to bother continuing it. By the time they reached home, both were in rather short tempered moods. Harry entered the house with a sigh, bracing himself for what was undoubtedly ahead.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed as Harry walked through the door, jumping off the couch and pulling Harry into a bear hug.

"Hey Sirius." Harry said, smiling as he embraced his godfather.

"I've missed you so much!" Sirius said, pulling back.

"Me too." Harry admitted, before turning to Remus.

"Hi, Harry." Remus said with a smile before pulling Harry into a slightly less energetic hug. "How have you been?"

"Fine." Harry shrugged. "What about you guys?"

Remus sighed, rubbing his head. "Fine, I suppose. But I've had what seems like a permanent headache since we arrived in Britain. How's your stomach? Cedric informed me of your…eventful weekend." Remus asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, fine. It barely even hurts – I've been taking healing and pain potions so that's to be expected." Harry said with a shrug. "So…what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked, feeling a little awkward.

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "We think it's going to be time soon for you two to return to Britain. Voldemort is assembling an army and it's only a matter of time before he begins the war for real."

"Okay." Harry nodded. "But isn't the Order gathering people as well?"

Remus sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "We're trying…But we aren't sure we will have enough by the time he makes his move. The werewolves have agreed for the most part, but that's only a small group."

"How…how long are we talking? How long until he makes his move?" Harry tilted his head quizzically.

Sirius shrugged. "A couple of months. Maybe more – I don't know. We just wanted to give you a heads up – Dumbledore's committed to not letting you know anything but we think you should have some idea of what's going on."

"Thank you." Harry sighed. "I'd rather know what's going on, even if it means I worry about it."

"Are you two going back to Britain then?" Cedric asked, looking a little disappointed.

Remus nodded. "Sorry…but it looks like you two are doing fine here on your own. Well, besides the stomach ulcer anyway. But that would have happened even if we _had_ been here. Cedric tells me you've made some nice friends, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"Any girlfriends Harry?" Sirius asked with a wink.

"Uh…no." Harry muttered.

"Boyfriends then?"

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, blushing brightly. "No." He hissed.

Sirius raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright."

Remus sighed. "We have to get going soon."

"You just got here!" Harry argued.

"I know." Sirius sighed. "But we're not supposed to be here at all. The longer we're gone the more suspicious it is."

"Fine." Harry muttered.

"I'm sorry Harry…but hopefully we'll see you again soon." Sirius said, standing up from his position on the couch.

"Yeah, alright." Harry sighed, accepting the offered hug.

…---…

"Hey." Alice said, sitting down on the bed next to Edward.

"Oh, Hey." Edward greeted, pulling the earphones out of his ears. "What's up?"

Alice smirked at him, before sprawling out on the bed. "So I had a bit of a strange vision about you this afternoon." She said, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh really." Edward said with a smirk. "And what was this vision about?"

"You." Alice said slyly. "And…Harry."

Edward's eyebrows rose. "Harry?"

Alice nodded. "Yes, Harry."

"And what were Harry and I doing?" Edward prompted, when it became apparent that Alice was content to make him suffer.

"Making out." She said simply.

"Seriously?" Edward asked, his eyes widening as he sat up a little straighter.

"Yep." Alice confirmed. She studied his face carefully for a moment. "That's a good thing, right?"

Edward thought for a moment. "Yeah." He said finally with a nod. "Yeah, it is."

"So do you think he's into you?" Alice asked, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"Harry?" Edward sighed. "How should I know?"

Alice shrugged. "Well, I saw you guys talking this morning. What was that about?"

"Oh." Edward shrugged. "Harry figured out we were vampires and wanted to know what we ate."

"Seriously?" Alice gaped. "I didn't know he knew!"

Edward shrugged. "He took it well. Really well – even better then Bella, and _she_ took it well."

"Well that's good." Alice sighed. "You should ask him out."

Edward shook his head. "Nah, I think that would probably just scare him away at this point."

"That's true." Alice admitted. "Well, at least invite him over. Or, I could invite him. He's friends with me and you of course, and he had a lengthy conversation with Jasper the other day at lunch. We could just invite him as a friends thing."

"Yeah. But Rosalie doesn't like him." Edward muttered bitterly. "Emmett doesn't mind him, but he's gonna take Rosie's side if it comes down to it."

"Rosalie can just deal." Alice rolled her eyes. "Invite him over."

"Yeah, okay. Maybe." Edward said after a long period of thought. "But maybe invite Bella too – I think he'd feel more comfortable if she came."

"Great!" Alice beamed. "So, this weekend?"

"Okay." Edward agreed. There were a few moments of silence, before Edward asked, "So why was he in such a hurry to leave this afternoon?"

Alice shrugged. "Bella said his uncles finally got back from Britain."

"Britain?" Edward questioned.

"Yeah. They've been there since before Harry and Cedric moved here." Alice frowned. "I guess they've been living on their own."

"Strange." Edward commented. "Everything about Harry is…strange."

"Yeah." Alice agreed. "But it's a good strange. An interesting strange."

"Definitely." Edward nodded.

**A/N: **

**So yeah, sorry about the delay. Read top AN if you haven't already. **

**I also have a poll for you! I want to know which part of the story line you're enjoying the most, so I can incorporate more of what everyone likes. Please choose one or two :D**

**-The Harry/Edward relationship.**

**-The Cedric/Bella relationship. (Which has yet to appear but will soon.)**

**-The Voldemort war.**

**-Other relationships.**

**-Other (Please specify)**

**Thankiesssss! :D :D**


	8. Coming Together

**Chapter eight: Coming together  
**

Harry was walking towards where Cedric was waiting in the car after school on Tuesday, when he turned at his name.  
"Harry!" It was Alice.

"Oh, hey Alice." He stopped. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Alice smiled. "Just wanted to know if you wanted to come to my place on Friday? 'Cause we have the day off, and Bella's coming over too."

Harry considered for a moment, before nodding. "Okay. Cedric's working, but I guess I'll just catch a lift with Bella then."

"Great!" Alice chirped. "I'll see you then."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're not coming to school this week?"

"I've predicted sunny weather." She said with a wink.

"Oh, right." Harry shook his head. "Well…have fun, with whatever it is you do…"

"We will. Bye Harry!"

"Bye." Harry said, before jumping into the car.

"What was that about?" Cedric asked with an odd look, pulling out onto the road.

"Alice asked me over on Friday." Harry said simply.

"Don't you have school?" Cedric asked.

Harry shook his head. "Nah, public holiday."

"Oh yeah." Cedric said. There were a few minutes of silence, before Cedric asked slowly, "So, do you like Alice or what?"

"What?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"Alice." Cedric repeated. "I thought you liked Bella before, but now you've been spending a lot of time with Alice."

"Uh, no." Harry answered quickly. "I don't like Alice _or_ Bella. They're my best friends, like Ron and Hermione – it would just be _weird_."

Cedric laughed slightly. "You know, if I didn't know better I'd say you were gay, Harry!"

Harry laughed awkwardly, but inwardly his mind was spinning over the comment. He found himself staring pensively out the window for the rest of the drive home, unable to forget Cedric's words.

...---…

The next few days passed quickly, and before Harry knew it he was in sixth period English on Thursday with Bella. True to her word, Alice and the Cullens hadn't shown up leaving Harry and Bella sitting alone at their table.

"Hey..." Harry said, once the teacher was far enough away not to hear. "So is it still alright for you to pick me up tomorrow?"

Bella quickly glanced to the teacher before responding. "Sure. Although I had another idea if you're interested?" Harry indicated for her to go on. "I was thinking you could just stay over tonight and then we could go over to the Cullens' place in the morning?"

"Okay." Harry said after a moment of thought. "Your dad won't mind?"

"Nah." Bella shook her head. "He won't even notice."

Harry shrugged. "Alright then. I'll get Cedric to drop me off tonight."

---…---

"Hey Bella." Harry said as the door opened.

"Hi Harry!" Bella said cheerfully. "Come on in." Harry followed her inside.

"Just dump your stuff here, we're gonna have dinner now anyway." Bella said, heading into the kitchen. Harry did so quickly before following Bella into the kitchen.

"Mmm. Smells good." Harry said as he entered the room.

"Lasagne." Bella said, dishing a slice onto each of the three plates in front of her. They carried the plates over to the table where Charlie was already seated and sat down.

"Hi, Harry." Charlie greeted warmly, digging into his lasagne quickly. Harry nodded in silent greeting. "How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks Mr. Swan." Harry answered between bites. "How are you?"

"I'm great." Dinner went smoothly, Harry managing small talk with Bella's father. After dinner Harry and Bella watched an old vampire movie (Which made them both laugh) before retiring to Bella's room close to midnight.

"Is that you and Edward?" Harry asked, gesturing to a photo of the two hugging on the wall.

"Yeah." Bella blushed. "We used to go out."

Harry nodded. "Yeah I think you told me earlier."

"Probably." Bella smiled.

"How come you guys broke up?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. It just sort of…happened I guess. We started spending less time together and then it just got uncomfortable. We avoided each other for a while, until Edward finally cornered me and told me it didn't have to be that way. After that we just stayed friends."

"So who do you like now?" Harry asked, flopping down onto the bed.

Bella blushed slightly before shaking her head. "No one."

Harry sat up quickly. "_Tell _me!" He demanded.

"You'll laugh." Bella said, biting her lip.

"I won't. I swear!" He added at her dubious look.

"Okay fine." She sighed. "Well…I've always thought your brother was hot." She admitted after a lengthy pause.

"Cedric?" Harry asked, surprise showing in his eyes. "You like _Cedric_?"

"I know, right?" Bella sighed, falling back against the head rest. "He probably doesn't even know who I am."

Harry thought carefully for a moment. "I don't know." He said slowly. "He used to ask if you were coming over a lot, I thought he was just trying to see if I was making friends, but maybe…"

"Seriously?" Bella asked hopefully.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."

Bella sighed. "Maybe." They thought to themselves for a moment before Bella asked, "So who do _you_ like, Harry?"

Harry blushed. "No one." He said quickly – maybe a little _too_ quickly.

"Oh, come on Harry! I told _you_…" She pouted.

"Seriously, no one." Harry sighed.

"Seriously?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…sort of." Harry blushed. "Maybe."

"Who?" Bella pressed. After Harry sat in silence for a few moments, clearly not intending on answering, Bella sighed. "Fine I'll guess. Alice?"

Harry cringed. "No way."

"Uh…" Bella thought for a moment. "Angela?"

"That girl from my biology class?" Bella nodded. "No. I've only talked to her like, once."

Bella shrugged. "I don't know then. Is it even a girl?"

Harry blushed.

"Oh my God!" Bella sat up quickly. "A boy?!"

Harry sighed. "You can't tell _anyone_."

"Of course not." Bella said quickly. "But who is it?"  
Harry sighed, mumbling into the pillow inaudibly. Bella elbowed him in the ribs sharply. "Ow!" He exclaimed. "Oh fine. Edward Cullen. Happy?"

Bella gasped. "Seriously?"

Harry shrugged, blushing brightly. "I don't _know_."

"Aw, Har that's so cute!" Bella knocked him playfully on the shoulder. "Harry's got a _crush_!"

"Shut up!" Harry groaned, shoving her lightly. "The last thing I need is you _teasing_ me about it."

"Sorry." Bella said with a giggle. "But Seriously? Edward?"

"Yes, seriously." Harry growled.

"Wow." Bella sighed, flopping back onto the bed. "What brought it on?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know…I was talking to him and…I don't know, it seemed like he was hitting on me or something. And then Cedric said something that made me think…and I don't…know." He finished, looking frustrated. He sighed after a few moments, shaking his head. "I feel like a _girl_." He snapped. "That's what hanging out with you and Alice does to me. First shopping, then sleep overs and now I have a…a _crush!_" He spat the word as if it was venomous, his voice growing a little more hysterical. "And…I…I don't even know if he feels the same!"

Bella pulled him into a comforting hug. "Aw, Har, it'll be okay. You'll see." They stayed like that for a few moments before Harry pulled back, nodding.

"Yeah." He sighed. "You're right…I guess."

"That's right." Bella smiled. "Now it's like one o'clock, you wanna go to sleep?"

"Yeah." Harry sighed, rolling onto his own side of the bed.

Bella got up to turn off the light, before returning to the bed. "Night, Harry."

"Night Bell." Harry mumbled, already feeling himself falling asleep.

…---…

_Harry…_

_Harry!_

"Harry!"

Harry jerked awake opening his eyes blearily. "Ugh…what?" He asked groggily, glaring at the annoyance.

"Time to get up!" Bella chirped, hitting him again with the pillow.

Harry sighed, stretching slightly. "Seriously?" he yawned. "How early is it?"

"It's already eleven." Bella answered. "We were supposed to be there at ten, but I decided to let you sleep…but you didn't seem like you were gonna wake up any time soon, so I had to wake you."

"Damn…" Harry muttered. "I'd rather go back to sleep." He groaned.

"No you wouldn't. Now get up!" Bella said sternly.

"Fine." Harry sighed, sitting up slowly. "God I'm tired." Harry moaned, running a hand through his messier-then-usual hair.

Bella shrugged. "You're the one who wanted to stay up all night talking." She said, before leaving the room.

Harry climbed out of bed, reaching for his bag and quickly changing clothes. Once presentable, he ventured downstairs to where the smell of pancakes was very prominent. "That smells good." He commented, sitting at the table.

"You bet it does." Bella said, walking out from the kitchen with a large plate of pancakes. "And it tastes even better."

Harry reached for the syrup that sat in the middle of the table, drizzling it over his stack of pancakes. "Mmm." He said as he took a bite. "You're a really good cook."

Bella laughed. "It's not like making pancakes really qualifies as cooking." She scoffed. Harry just shrugged, digging into his stack in earnest.

Half an hour later they pulled up in front of an old, beautiful house. "Wow." Harry said as they got out of the car. "It's nice."

Bella grinned. "Wait till you see the inside. Come on!" She pulled him along until they reached the door, which opened before they had even had time to knock.

"Bella! Harry!" Alice greeted warmly. "Come in!"

Bella had been right – the inside was even more impressive then the outside. "You're house is really nice." Harry said, looking around as they walked through the spacious entrance hall.

"Thanks." Alice said, leading them over to where a young couple were standing. "Harry, this is Esme and Carlisle, my…well, parents I guess." She said with a giggle. Dr. Cullen was incredibly good looking – blond, pale and very handsome. Esme was also stunning, as seemed to be the norm for vampires.

"Hi." He said awkwardly, shaking Carlisle's hand shyly.

"Hi, Harry." Esme said warmly. "I've been waiting so long to meet you – Alice and Edward talk about you frequently."

Harry blushed slightly. "Hi Esme, Carlisle." Bella greeted, shifting the attention from Harry.

"Hello Bella." They smiled. "How have you been dear?" Esme asked in a motherly fashion.

"Great thanks, and you?" Harry took the time while they spoke to calm himself – his nerves were racing. After a few minutes the adults excused themselves, and Harry and Bella followed Alice upstairs.

"Hey, Harry." Edward said, walking over with a smile. "Hey Bella."

"Hey Edward." Bella greeted while Harry just nodded. They hung out as a group for a little bit, before Bella and Alice went to Alice's room leaving Harry and Edward alone in the T.V room.

"How are you Harry?" Edward asked as the two took a seat on the couch.

"Fine." Harry said, finding himself a little nervous. "How about you?"

"I'm great." Edward said with a disarming smile. "How was school this week?"

Harry shrugged. "Fine, I guess. What did you guys do the last few days?"

"Hunt." Edward said with a grin. At Harry's curious look, he elaborated. "Bears, lions." He shrugged. "Sometimes elk."

"Wow." Harry said simply. "You eat bears?"

"Well…no." Edward said with a chuckle. "We just drink their blood."

"Ew." Harry scrunched up his nose. "That doesn't sound very tasty."

"To a human it isn't." Edward admitted. "But to a vampire…It's like – what's your favourite dessert?"

Harry shrugged. "Treacle tart? We had it a lot in England." He added at Edward's confused gaze.

"Right." He nodded. "Well, blood is like that only ten times more delicious, and instead of just wanting it, we _need_ it." Harry was finding it progressively harder to listen to what Edward was saying – his melodious voice was rather distracting.

Edward gave him a curious glance causing Harry to blush, knowing he'd been caught staring. Edward just smiled in response and pretended he hadn't noticed.

"So uh," Harry changed the subject, clearing his throat awkwardly. "How's your family?"

"Yeah, good." Edward said with another charming smile. "Emmett is still in a bad mood 'cause he broke his car. It's going to be at least another week before it's fixed – which means another week of his complaining." Edward rolled his eyes.

Harry laughed. "Well I think we're in the same boat there – Cedric's been a total bitch since the T.V died."

"We should introduce them." Edward said with a mischievous grin. "Then they can bug each other."

"Sounds good to me." Harry said with a laugh, stretching out a little on the couch. They sat quietly for a few minutes, the silence stretching between them uncomfortably.

"So Harry," Edward said after a little while. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"You have?" Harry asked, yawning a little.

"Yeah." Edward said with a laugh. "Am I boring you?" He gestured to Harry's still half open mouth.

"No!" Harry said quickly. "I'm just tired. I stayed at Bella's last night, and you know…"

"Relax, Harry." Edward interrupted with a smile. "I was joking."

"Oh." Harry blushed, causing Edward's smile to widen.

Edward shook his head at the embarrassed teen. "You're too adorable, Harry." His tone was joking, but Harry had his eyes firmly on the ground and missed the sincerity that flashed in Edward's eyes.

"Oh yeah, let's pick on Harry." He mumbled, glaring at the smug vampire.

"Aw I'm sorry Harry." Edward said playfully. "Forgive me?"

"Fine." Harry muttered after a lengthy pause. "What were you saying before then?"

"Oh yeah." Edward said, becoming serious again. "So listen, my whole family and I are going camping next Friday for the first few days of the holiday. We've already invited Bella, but I was wondering if you might like to come too?"

Harry thought for a moment, staring into Edward's hopeful eyes. Finally, he smiled widely. "Sure!" He said brightly. "I'd have to check with Cedric though…" Harry deflated a little at the thought. Vegetarians or no, he doubted Cedric would be happy for Harry to go camping with a bunch of vampires.

"Damn." Edward sighed. "I forgot about Cedric. Do you think he'd let you come?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. I hope so." He said wistfully. "Camping sounds like fun – I've never really been."

"Seriously?" Edward asked incredulously. "We Americans go camping all the time."

Harry shrugged. "Well I sort of did one time, but that wasn't really like, wilderness camping. We just slept in a tent for a night at a sports event."

"Wow." Edward whistled. "You really are sheltered, aren't you little Harry?" He teased.

"Hey!" Harry snapped. "I thought we agreed you couldn't make fun of me?" He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Besides I wasn't allowed to do anything like camping until I was eleven, and after that there was no time."

"You weren't allowed?" Edward questioned, his eyes shining with curiosity.

Harry shrugged. "I used to live with my blood aunt and her husband. Sirius and Remus aren't my real uncles, but they took me in a couple of years ago." Harry explained with as little detail as possible.

"Oh." Edward said softly. "What…what happened to your parents?"

"They died when I was a baby." Harry said shortly.

"I'm sorry." Edward said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay." Harry shrugged. "I didn't know them anyway. Let's talk about something else?" He suggested, glancing up from his lap.

"Sure." Edward agreed. Thankfully, they were saved from coming up with another conversation topic by the arrival of the girls.

"Hey guys!" Alice greeted, flopping down onto the couch. "So I was thinking we could go see a movie? That one about the vampires is playing." She said with a wicked grin.

"Underworld?" Edward asked.

"Yeah." Bella nodded. "Alice wants to see it."

"Sure." Edward shrugged turning to Harry. "You wanna go?"

"I guess." Harry said. "But why do you want to see a movie about fake vampires…when you guys are real vampires?" He asked, looking a little confused.

"Vampire movies are their version of a comedy." Bella said dryly. "They get off on laughing at all the mistakes."

---…---

The movie was good – and Harry had gotten to sit next to Edward, which he wasn't about to complain about. The Cullens had dropped him home that evening, leaving him with the daunting task of convincing Cedric to let him go camping.

"Hey Harry." Cedric called from the kitchen as Harry walked in the door.

Harry wandered into the room, wincing a little at the cooking smells. "Hey Cedric." He said, dumping his bags on the floor. Cedric had never been the best cook, so Harry was a little worried when he saw the many pots cooking on the large stove. "Uh…what are you cooking?"

Cedric paused for a moment before answering. "I don't…really know. It doesn't really resemble the recipe all that much anymore, but it was _supposed_ to be ah…" he glanced down at the recipe in front of him. "Chicken rasam. But I had a bit of an accident with the chicken…so it's really just rasam. Well, sort of rasam."

Harry paled. "Uh…I'm good – I ate at the Cullens." He said quickly, backing away a little.

Cedric's face fell. "Oh." He turned away a little.

Harry sighed, knowing he would regret this decision. "But I think I have room for some more." He bit out grudgingly, eyeing the orange goop warily.

"Great!" Cedric exclaimed. "You may as well sit down, it'll be ready soon."

Harry sighed, before taking a seat at the table. He clearly remembered the last time he had eaten Cedric's cooking, which had resulting in horrendous food poisoning for a week.

"How was your sleepover? And your visit with the Cullens?" Cedric asked with his back turned, still trying to salvage the 'rasam'.

"Yeah, fine." Harry answered.

"Did you have fun?" Cedric asked as he brought out the dishes.

"Yeah, I guess." Harry said.

Cedric smiled happily. "You see, Harry? Socialising is _fun._ I'm glad you went."

"Really?" Harry said quickly, seizing the opening. "Because I'm already planning on spending more time with them these holidays."

"Really?" Cedric asked, surprised. "That's great, Harry."

"Yeah. They invited me to go camping with them." Harry said carefully. "And I was _really_ hoping I could go."

Cedric thought for a moment, chewing his 'food' slowly. "I don't know." He said. "They're vampires."

"I noticed." Harry said dryly. "They're also vegetarians. Besides, Bella's coming too. It's not like I'll be all alone with them."

Cedric appraised him carefully across the table. "You really want to go?" He asked uncertainly.

"Really." Harry assured him. "It would mean a lot if you would let me go."

Cedric sighed, stirring his food impatiently. "Alright." He agreed. "But I want to talk to their parents first." He muttered, looking unhappy.

"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed. "I love you Ced!" He said, bouncing up from the table and dumping his plate in the sink.

Cedric just nodded, wondering if he should be offended by the fact that Harry hadn't even touched the food.

**A/N: Zomg so sorry! It's been, like a week. I totally underestimated how much school work there would be in the very first week of the year :o Therefore, this chapter is officially dedicated to sixth period study sessions – without them, I would probably never have gotten around to writing this. My wonderful sixth period study seshs are an amazing gift from god! They allow me a whole hour to do all the shit assigned in all my classes….well, I don't really get through it all in the one sesh, so I still have loads to do at home…but without them, I'd be SO screwed!**

**Also, thanks for answering the poll in the last chapter – it seems the unanimous vote was the Harry/Edward relationship, with Cedric/Bella coming in second. Other things like the La Push Wolves etc. seemed to be popular also, although the Voldemort war was only voted for like, once…which is good, because I don't really like writing that part either ;) **

**As you have just seen, I will be making an effort to include more Harry/Edward now that I know your views. Thanks for reading, and thanks (as always) to my Beta LadyBlackMagic who beta'd this chapter. I think you should all go read her HP/Twi story too cuz its awesome :D**

**Love rias.**


	9. Growth

**A/N: Uhhh…hey guys –sheepish wave-. Hope you're all still alive? Lol. Um, so not much of an excuse for the…lengthy –cough- under exaggeration –cough- time since I last updated. I've been reading over the last few chapters in order to write this one, and it looks so strange to me it doesn't even seem like I wrote it o.0 Sozzzaaaa **

**Also sorry to anyone who witnessed the accidental upload x.x hope I didn't spoil anything with a certain bracket that pertained to H/E :P It was an honest mistake. Sorry guys!**

**Chapter nine: Growth**

Harry was excited. Scratch that, Harry was just about leaping out of his chair with enthusiasm – for today was the last day of school for the term, and the day before he would leave to go camping with the Cullens. Therefore it was quite understandable that he was literally brimming with excitement, as he eagerly awaiting the bell to ring, signalling the end of the last lesson of the day.

He glanced to his left, only to see Alice smirking slightly at him. "What?" He hissed, drumming his fingers on the desk top.

She laughed softly, stopping quickly as she attracted the attention of the teacher. After a few moments the teacher looked away, allowing Alice to continue. "Calm down!" She scolded in jest. "It's just a camping trip." She said with a wink, before adding, "Or is it a certain person you can't wait to spend the week with?"

Harry flushed scarlet, turning back to his work quickly. "None of your business." He muttered, causing Alice to once again snicker in amusement.

However, Harry's mind dwelled on her suggestion for several moments causing him to lose focus as he stared vacantly out the window. While he was excited to merely have the experience of real camping, it was true that he was much, much more excited about the prospect of spending the week with Edward. He couldn't really identify what he felt for the vampire, but he knew at least that it was significant.

At the same time as he was excited at the coming week, he was also filled with a deep fear. Although Edward appeared to enjoy the time they spent together, Harry could never be sure. He had trusted far too much in the past, only to be let down by the one he had placed his faith in. While he was almost certain this was not the case with Edward, the fear still lingered in the back of his mind, shadowing his thinking.

"Harry," Alice was nudging him insistently. "Haaaa-reee!" She said in a rather annoying, sing song-y voice.

"What?" Harry said finally, his eyes drifting from the window to her face.

"The bell rung. Let's go shorty." Harry glared at that last comment, but rose from his seat anyway.

"I'm not _that_ short." He grumbled, following her out of the room.

"Relax, I think it's cute." Alice said endearingly, rustling his hair fondly.

"I am _not_ cute!" Harry protested, showing her away from his hair.

"What are you then?" Alice smirked.

"Manly." Harry said, poking his tongue out at her. "And of an average stature, nothing less."

"You're no more manly then Rosalie is!" Alice sniggered, earning herself a sharp smack on her elbow.

"You be quiet." Harry pouted as they reached the parking lot.

"Seeya tomorrow Har. Make sure you pack some warm gear!" She shouted as Harry climbed into his car.

"Bye Alice. See you at ten." He said, waving as he pulled out of the parking lot.

…---…

"Sweat pants?"

Harry glanced down at the bag at his feet, before nodding. "Check."

"Boots?"

Spotting them in his cupboard, Harry threw them quickly into the corner of the bag.  
"Check."

"Underwear?"

"Bella!" Harry blushed. "Yes. Check." He sighed into the phone, holding it away from his ear as Bella started laughing loudly.

"Uh…hoodie?" She suggested, having recovered form her fit of humour.

"Yeah, got that." He paused, spying his woollen socks on his dresser. "What about socks? I'll need them won't I?"

"You sure will." Bella answered. "Oh, hang on, Alice is on the other line."

"Okay." Harry said, placing the phone on his desk. "Hmm…What else will I need?"

"You got your underwear?" Cedric yelled from the hallway, causing Harry to turn and glare at the older teen.

"Yes." He growled, slamming the door in his brothers' face.

"Harry?" He heard the muffled voice from the desk before walking over and lifting the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Alice said to remind you to bring spare underwear." Bella said teasingly.

"For Christ's sake!" Harry exploded. "What is it with you people? Why would I forget my underwear?"

"Night Harry!" Bella simply sang in response, before hanging up the phone.

"Whatever." Harry muttered, throwing it onto the bean bag in the corner of his room. He did a final check of his bag as he passed it, flushing as he realised he actually _had_ forgotten to pack underwear. He quickly snatched a few pairs out of his drawer and threw them into the bag, swearing he would never speak of it to anyone.

---…---

"Harry!" Cedric groaned, flopped out on the couch. "Harry the doorbell rang!"

_Ding-Dong…_

"Harry!" He shrieked, sighing as there was no answer from the teen. "Fine, fine." He muttered, standing up and stretching languidly. He walked over to the front door, opening it with a drawn out yawn.

"Har, you re- oh!"

Cedric opened his eyes, finally noticing the girl standing on the other side.

"Oh." He blushed, glancing down at his naked upper body. "Uh…hi." He said with a small wave.

"Hi Cedric." Bella said shyly, waving back slightly. "You look…uh," she paused slightly, eyeing his toned physique up and down. "Nice." She finally settled on with a blush.

"Thanks." Cedric went pink. "You look…uh, nice too."

"Um, thanks." Bella said awkwardly. "So…is Harry around?"

"Oh, yeah!" Cedric said quickly, turning back to the house. "Oh," He turned back towards her. "Come in."

"Harry!" He called loudly, once they were both inside.

"Yeah, coming Cedric." Came Harry's muffled voice from up the stairs.

The two sat awkwardly on the couch, staring silently at the muted television.

"So…" Cedric started, "What's your…favourite subject?" He asked quickly, mentally slapping himself for failing to think up a better conversation topic.

Bella, thankfully, latched onto the conversation quickly. "English, I'd say. It's a bit of a bludge really. Not as hard as math and more fun then any of the histories. What about you? What was your favourite when you were in school?"

"Uh…I'd have to say physical education." Cedric answered, thinking of his DADA lessons at Hogwarts. "We did a lot of self defence stuff."

"Oh." Bella nodded. "You were a bit of a jock then?"

"Yeah." Cedric laughed. "I was captain of my school sports team in my last year."

"Oh, cool. What sport was that?" Bella asked, leaning forward a little in interest.

"Um…" Cedric scrambled for the name of a muggle sport. "Football." He said finally. "But we played it a little differently then they do here in America."

"You mean football-football or what you Brits call football?" Bella teased.

"Uh…the one with the black and white ball?" he tried weakly.

"Oh, soccer." She said with a laugh.

"Is that what it's called?" Cedric said with a laugh.

"Yeah, here anyway. I don't really get why you Brits call it football." She said, shaking her head in amusement.

"Well I don't get why you Americans call it soccer!" Cedric exclaimed, poking his tongue out as she laughed.

They were interrupted by the noisy arrival of Harry, dragging along his over-packed bag. "Hey Bell, ready to go?" he asked, yawning widely.

"Hey Harry," Bella said standing up quickly. "Yep, ready. We better go – we're supposed to be meeting at the Cullen's at two."

"Okay." Harry glanced strangely between the two, wondering why they seemed so awkward. Shrugging, he decided to let it go for the time being.

"Bye Cedric." He said, waving to the older teen as he swung the door shut. "What was that all about?" He muttered to Bella as the walked over to her car.

"What?" She said innocently.

"That thing with Cedric!" Harry exclaimed, jumping into the passenger seat.

Bella shrugged blushing brightly. "I don't know." She admitted quietly. "But he's a nice guy." Harry nodded, leaning back in his seat. "And that six pack! _Whew_!"

…---…

"So we'll be taking four cars, so we can take all the luggage and camping gear we will need." Carlisle said as the large family packed all their gear into the cars. "Esme, Rose and myself will take the land cruiser. Emmet and Jasper will take Emmett's car, Alice and Bella in Alice's car, and Edward and Harry in the Volvo. Everyone happy with that?"

There were general murmurs of agreement, with one large "Yes!" from Rosalie, who was currently having a rather heated argument with Alice and didn't want to be anywhere near her.

"Okay then. Everyone in and we'll see you at the rock!" Esme said happily, climbing into the passenger seat of the cruiser.

The rock, apparently, was the Cullen's favourite camping place. In the forest terrain after about a four and a half hour drive there was a large moss covered rock with marked the clearing in which they enjoyed camping. A freshwater stream ran through it, providing a supply of drinking and bathing water.

Harry climbed in next to Edward, stunned at the dazzling smile the vampire sent him. "Hey Harry." He said warmly as he started up the engine.

"Hi, Edward." Harry said shyly.

After the first hour of driving, the two had run out of conversation topics. They had finally resorted to truth or dare, no matter how childish it seemed. Well, really only truth, as the confines of the car made dares hard.

"Your turn." Harry sighed, glancing out the window.

"Hmm." Edward murmured, swerving madly to avoid a car. "What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you?"

Harry thought for a moment staring out the window. "Probably when my parents died." Harry admitted softly. "I don't remember it, but it ended with me being sent to my relatives…so yeah." He trailed off awkwardly.

"Sorry…" Edward whispered, laying his free hand on Harry's arm. "I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, it's okay." Harry said quickly. "Anyway, my turn." He thought deeply for a moment, considering his questions carefully. Finally, He decided to just ask it. "What…do you think of me honestly?" Harry asked timidly, wide green eyes staring into Edward's.

Edward thought deeply for a moment, before pulling the car onto the side of the road. He turned in his seat, staring into Harry's hypnotising emerald eyes.

"I think," he began seriously. "I think you are the kindest, sweetest person I have ever met. My life has been blessed just by knowing you and I count myself lucky to have the privilege of being your friend. I think you are amazing, and beautiful, and…and…" He paused, breathing deeply. "And I think I'm in love with you, Harry Black." He finished, his eyes boring into Harry's emerald ones.

Harry swallowed quickly, staring at Edward in shock. "I...I don't know what to say." Harry said quietly.

"Then don't say anything." Edward whispered, leaning in closer. Harry showed no signs of moving back, encouraging Edward to lean even further, touching his lips gently against Harry's.

Harry shivered as Edward's cold lips touched his own rosy ones, feeling like velvet against his skin. He sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned in closer to Edward, feeling a cold hand snake into his hair. He felt Edwards tongue glide across his lips and gave in to instinct, opening them with a moan. He felt Edward's tongue slide against his for one blissful moment, before it was gone.

Harry opened his eyes slowly, staring into Edward's lust filled gaze. "E-Edward." He whispered. "What…"

"Shhh." Edward said, placing a finger gently over Harry's lips. "Don't say anything. Just…think." He said with a sigh, leaning back into his seat.

Harry nodded silently, barely noticing as Edward pulled the car back onto the road. The rest of the journey was spent in silence, with both of them contemplating the newly crossed boundary between them.

---…---

It was an awkward pair that clambered out of the Volvo, barely glancing at one another as they made their way to the group. Bella shot Harry an odd look, but didn't question him in public.

They set up the tents fairly quickly – the Cullens had brought enough tents for each 'couple' to share, while Harry, Edward and Bella all got single ones. It was beginning to get dark as they finished with the camp fire, having it lit and ready right on time. Harry and Bella sprayed themselves liberally with mosquito repellent (The darn vampires were immune) before settling down beside the campfire to eat their roasted sausages. The group made small talk for a while, before mutually deciding to get an early night as they expected to be up at dawn in the morning.

Harry said goodnight to Bella, (with a somewhat awkward wave at Edward) before retiring to his small blue tent. He rolled out his sleeping bag, settling himself on it and closing the zip door.

He lay awake in his sleeping bag for quite some time, just thinking. He thought heavily about what had transpired between him and Edward – it had been completely unexpected, and Harry still almost thought he was dreaming. He'd come to accept in recent days that he had a more then innocent liking of Edward, but he most certainly hadn't thought his feeling reciprocated. What Edward had said and done had shocked him to the core – not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would ever kiss Edward Cullen.

_How could he possibly feel the same?_ Harry wondered to himself. _He's Edward Cullen – the most handsome, beautiful being I've ever laid eyes on. I'm just…Harry._ He sighed, burying his face in his pillow. He lay there, so absorbed in his thoughts, tat he didn't even notice his tent being unzipped and someone entering.

"Harry!" Harry jumped, turning to face the intruder.

"Edward?" he asked warily, squinting in the darkness.

"It's me." Edward said, "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Harry said, moving over a little. Edward smiled, taking the offered seat beside him.

"Look…" Edward began, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I scared you before. I just…couldn't help myself." Edward admitted with a small smile.

"It's okay." Harry said after a moments pause. "I….I think I liked it." He admitted, glancing shyly into Edward's amber eyes.

"Really?" Edward breathed, his eyes brightening slightly.

Harry nodded. "Yeah." He coughed slightly. "I _really_ liked it." He blushed heavily at this comment, causing Edward to chuckle.

"Well that's great." He whispered, leaning closer. "Because I really liked it too." He breathed the words onto Harry's lips, before slowly melting his lips against Harry's. Harry's eyes slid closed, his arms wrapping themselves around his vampire. He mentally chuckled at this comment – when had Edward become his? Before deciding he didn't care.

He boldly licked across Edward's lips, as Edward had previously done to him. Edward's mouth opened eagerly, allowing Harry access within. Their tongues tangled and slid against each other in a kiss that could only be described as ecstasy. Edward gently pulled Harry down so they were now lying next to each other, rather then sitting beside each other. Harry broke away from the kiss after several moments, gasping for air. He wasn't given much of a breather however, before Edward pulled him back into another scorching kiss. Edward's arms encircled him, pulling him close against his chest. Edward placed one last kiss on Harry's parted lips, before pulling back with a soft smile.

"Harry…" He whispered, staring into those alluring green eyes, half dazed with lust.

"Edward?" Harry asked, still panting slightly.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered, placing a soft kiss on Harry's forehead.

Harry blushed pink, shaking his head slightly. "I'm not." He muttered, biting his lip. "I'm scrawny, scarred, pale…" He sighed. "You're perfect. How could you want someone like me?" He asked softly, his eyes wide.

"You're beautiful Harry." Edward said, stroking Harry's cheek softly. "And you'll never convince me otherwise."

"Edward…" Harry began.

"Shhh." Edward whispered, before silencing him with a kiss.

---…---

Harry woke in the morning to the pleasant feeling of arms wrapped around his clothed waist. He opened his eyes blearily, to find Edward's amber eyes staring down at him.

"Morning." Edward whispered.  
"Hey." Harry said shyly, remembering their time the night before. They had kissed passionately for what seemed like hours, until Harry had finally collapsed onto his sleeping bag and fallen asleep. Edward had lain next to him for what was left of the night, reflecting on his thoughts and feelings.

He had finally come to a conclusion by morning – Edward Cullen was deeply and irrevocably in love with Harry Black.

**A/N; Yeah…I know it's a little short…but give a girl a break. At least I updated, neh?**


	10. Completion

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I'm glad everyone's glad that they *finally* got together. Again, sincerely apologise to those that saw the spoiler and I hope it didn't ruin the chapter too much for you. **

**This chapter is dedicated to ****Julianne123,**** whose inspiring reviews made the 30****th**** of May a great day for me. **

**I also bought my semiformal (for Australians it's like the equivalent of an American prom? In grade 11.) dress and shoes! The dress is gorgeous, pale pink with black lace and diamantes it's got a real fifties pin up look to it. The shoes are also nice, but I couldn't get the beautiful ones I REALLY wanted, because I'm too unco to walk in them ******** The heels I wanted were like, 6 inches, but I ended up only getting four and a half inches. But oh well. **

**Now, on to what you're REALLY here for ;)**

**NOTE; Some, ahem, mature content up ahead folks. So if you're not a total Yaoi-whore, I wouldn't read it. **

**Chapter ten: Completion**

For Harry, the rest of the camping trip went far too quickly. He and Edward spent as much time together as they could without making the others suspicious, exploring their newly developed relationship. Alice, of course, knew exactly what was happening – but after a plea from her brother, she agreed to keep it a secret for the time being. The hours dwindled away with fishing, swimming, hunting and relaxing, and before they knew it they were up to their last night. Harry had really enjoyed he experience – both the time he spent with Edward at night, and the many camping activities they did during the day. Therefore he was understandably a little upset, when he realised they would be going back to the real world in the morning.

That night it was with a sigh that Harry greeted Edward as he crawled into his tent, immediately climbing under the coves which had become habit for the two of them.

"Hey Har," Edward greeted with a smile.  
"Hey." Harry said softly.

They lay in silence for a little, until Edward finally broke it. "What's up?"

Harry shrugged, letting his shoulders fall back on to the mattress. "Nothing." At Edward's determined look, however, Harry sighed and continued.

"It's just…" He paused to collect his thoughts, making sure he said exactly what he meant. "This week has been so amazing. I never thought I could feel so happy and peaceful." Harry said wistfully. "I just…don't want it to end, I guess."

Edward smiled slightly, sliding his arm around Harry's thin shoulders. "It has been nice." Edward agreed quietly.

"But…" Harry paused, turning on his side slightly to look into Edwards eyes. "Will this end when we leave?"

"Will what end?" Edward asked with a frown.

"This." Harry gestured at the two of them. "Is this just…temporary?" Harry asked quietly, biting his lip.

Edward was silent a few moments before sighing. "Of course not Harry!" He said finally with much conviction. "This didn't happen because of the trip. I…I've felt this way about you for a while, and I would have acted even if we hadn't come here."

"Really?" Harry asked hopefully. "So…this isn't just something to do while we're here?"

Edward felt almost like he should be insulted by that statement. After all, did Harry think so little of him? Did the think he would just play with Harry's emotions and leave him when he felt bored? However, despite how he would feel in this situation had someone else implied that, he knew Harry well enough that it was _Harry_ himself who Harry doubted, and not Edward. Harry still didn't think himself good enough, no matter how many times Edward reassured him.

"Harry…" Edward sighed pulling the smaller boy closer, who burrowed into his side slightly. "I could never think that way about you. You're too important to me." He said softly, frowning as he saw tears in Harry's beautiful emerald eyes.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Edward asked with concern.

Harry was silent, simply burrowing his face further into Edward's side to hide his tears. Edward held him for several minutes, until Harry finally spoke.

"I just…" He paused to wipe his eyes. "Sorry." He said angrily. "Can't help it." Edward nodded to say it was okay, and gestured for him to continue.

"Everyone I get close to either leaves me, or I have to leave them." He said softly. "I don't want you to leave me." He whispered the last part, almost as if he didn't want Edward to hear it.

"I'll never leave you Harry, unless you are not happy with me." Edward said solemnly, gazing into Harry's emerald eyes.

Harry shook his head. "You won't have a choice!" He hissed angrily, seemingly at himself. "If you don't leave me...One day I will have to leave you!"

Edward thought this over for a minute, confused. "What do you mean?" He asked softly.

Harry shook his head. "I Just…I wouldn't get close to me. You'll get hurt eventually." Harry said cryptically, staring seriously into Edward's eyes. "Everyone does." He finished softly, another tear falling of the emerald orbs.

"What are you talking about Harry?" Edward asked breathily.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Edward." Harry whispered.

"I know." Edward said calmly. "But I don't see how that matters."

"It matters." Harry said strongly. "It matters so much." Harry shook his head as Edward began to argue. "You don't understand. There are things in my life that you don't…_can't_ understand."

"Then tell me." Edward demanded.

Harry shook his head. "I can't." He said softly, biting his lip.

"Why not?" Edward asked with a sigh.

"Because you can't be a part of this!" Harry hissed. "I will not put you in danger by telling you!"

Edward considered this for a moment, his steely gaze boring into Harry's. "Harry…Are you in some kind of trouble?" He asked levelly.

"You have no idea." Harry whispered. "No idea."

"I can help you. We can help you!" Edward said quickly. "Just tell me what's going on."

"I can't." Harry said turning away slightly.

They sat in a stony silence for several minutes, before Edward sighed running a hand through his hair. "Okay." He said finally. "Just…come here." Harry glanced up at the soft statement before nodding as Edward pulled him to his side. "Let's just sleep." Edward said softly, wiping away a remnant tear that had remained on Harry's face.

"Okay." Harry said softly. "Good night."

…---…

The holidays ended much too fast in Harry's opinion. All too soon he found himself trudging through the slushy parking lot, making his way to the door once again.

"Hey, Har." Bella said dejectedly, coming up beside him. "Can't believe we're back already." She sighed.

Harry nodded. "How have you been?" Harry asked, not having seen her since the camping trip.

"Yeah, alright." She said with a smile. "I spent a week up at Jacob's which was pretty awesome. What did you do?"

Harry shrugged. "Hung around mostly. I went over to the Cullen's a couple of times, that was fun I guess." Bella winked at him.

"I'm sure it was!" She said with a laugh.

"Shut up." Harry muttered, nudging her in the ribs as they made their way to class.

"Harry's got a cru-ush!" Bella teased, ruffling his hair.

"Shh!" Harry hissed as a passing boy gave them an odd look. "Just be quiet."  
"Oh alright." Bella sighed. "You ruin all my fun." She said and with a wink she walked into her homeroom. "Seeya at lunch!"

Harry waved in her direction, before heading off to his own homeroom.

When lunch finally rolled around, Harry found that he was alone at the table. A few minutes later, however, Edward joined him with a smile.  
"Hey Harry." He said warmly, sitting down opposite the black haired teen.

"Hi Edward," Harry said smiling.

"So listen," Edward said as he placed his tray down. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No." Harry shook his head. "Why?"

"We-ell." Edward drew the word out teasingly. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date?"

Harry coughed slightly. "A…A date?" He said slowly. "Like a real date?"

"Sure." Edward said with a smile. "I was thinking because we've been…well, you know…for two weeks now. So maybe we should go out on a date?"

Harry smiled widely. "I'd love that."

"Great!" Edward beamed. "I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sure." Harry replied as the others approached the table.

"What's got you looking so happy?" Bella asked teasingly as she sat down next to Harry.

Harry took a deep breath, mulling the decision over in his mind before nodding with resolve. "Me…Me and Edward are going on a date." He said finally, eyeing the three table members who were unaware.

"Really? That's great!" Bella exclaimed, with Alice beaming and nodding beside her.

"You two…" Rosalie frowned. "You two are together?" She said, gesturing between the two of them. "Like…together, together?"

Harry nodded slightly. "Yes." Edward announced boldly, taking Harry's hand across the table. "We are." His defiant glare dared the others to argue.

"Okay," Emmett shrugged. Rosalie frowned, but said nothing while Jasper continued to stare at the two of them.

"Okay." He said finally, returning back to the pretence of eating his meal.

They sat in a slightly awkward silence for several moments, before Alice coughed. "Well I think it's great!" She announced loudly. "They deserve to be happy." Bella nodded quickly in agreement, and even the three shocked others seemed to agree slightly.

"So…" Bella started. "What did you guys do in the holidays?"

There was a universal awkward chuckle, before Alice launched into a detailed explanation of her activities.

---…---

Harry scratched nervously at the sleeve of his shirt, glancing up at the person beside him. Edward gave a him a small grin, before turning back tot eh road.

"Relax Harry." He said gently, amusement in his eyes.

"Sorry." Harry murmured. "This is…well, this is kind of my first date." He admitted, staring at the car floor.

Edward nodded, before fluidly changing the topic. "How is Cedric?"

"Oh, he's good. He's thinking of going and visiting our uncles in England." Harry answered.

"Oh really?" Edward asked. "When are they returning?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. They were supposed to be here months ago. I think they've decided not to come."

"What are they doing in England?" Edward asked curiously as they stopped at the lights.

"Um…business," Harry said quickly. "Taking care of stuff back home."

Edward nodded, pulling into the cinema car park. "Come on," He said, as Harry appeared to have no intention of moving.

"Oh fine." Harry grumbled, stepping out of the car. "It's so _cold!_" He complained, burrowing further into his heavy jacket.

"I know." Edward agreed, privately thinking about how much he'd like to warm Harry up himself.

The two walked into the cinema, choosing a seat near the back. They were watching a romantic comedy called "He's just not that into you" and had a good bucket of popcorn, and two cups of soda.

They watched the movie for the first half an hour, occasionally laughing at the funny lines or frowning at the tense moments. It was when the plot started to get too complicated to follow (too many different guys dating too many different girls) and Scarlet Johanson appeared to have like, three different guys that Harry found himself losing interest. Apparently Edward shared his disinterest, because as Harry turned to face him he found Edward already staring at him.

"What?" Harry whispered.

Edward just smiled, reaching over to take his hand in the darkness. "Nothing." He whispered back. They turned back to the movie, hands still entwined. During the next few minutes Edward felt Harry smuggling closer and closer to his side, until Harry was sitting pressed up against him, appearing to be asleep.

"Harry!" Edward whispered, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Harry…"

"What?" Harry groaned, sitting up.

"You fell asleep." Edward grinned.

"Sorry." Harry blushed cutely. "It's not boring, I'm just tired." He said quickly. "Well…" Edward began, pulling Harry back to his side. "I for one have seen enough people kissing on screen." He leant his face closer to Harry's. "When all I want to do is kiss _you_." He whispered the last bit against Harry's lips before gently touching them together. Harry moaned slightly, causing Edward to break the kiss, gasping. "Harry…" he muttered, before claiming Harry's lips again. Edward's hand snaked up Harry's side as their kiss deepened, tongues sliding against each other passionately. Before he realised what he was doing, Edward found himself yanking at Harry's shirt.

"Off." He mumbled against Harry's lips, eyes filled with lust. Harry agreed, silently slipping his shirt over his head before returning his lips to Edward's. Edward's tongue tickled his lips and Edward slid his hands up Harry's torso, before Harry gladly opened his mouth to allow Edward entrance. "Edward…" Harry moaned, deepening the kiss as his hands made their way under Edward's shirt. Edward removed the barrier, allowing Harry access to his perfectly sculptured torso. Soon they were pressed up against each other, Harry's heated chest warming Edward's cold torso as they kissed each other hungrily.

Edward's hand travelled down Harry's back, accidentally sliding against Harry's buttocks. "Sorry." He said quickly, breaking the kiss.

Harry shook his head firmly, "Keep going." He gasped, face flushed with pleasure. Edward willingly complied, running his hand over the swell of Harry's arse as they continued to make out passionately. Harry's hand trailed down Edward's stomach, finally pausing at the bulge in his trousers. Edward pulled him closer, moaning as Harry tentatively caressed his groin and deepened the kiss even further. As Edward's hand began to copy his own movements, Harry found himself lost in the sensations.

All too soon the sensations became to much for Harry to bear, and Harry found himself moaning loudly as he drifted closer and closer to the edge. Edward too appeared to be having a hard time, as he finally broke the kiss with a whisper of "Harry!" as he finished. Harry followed just seconds later, experiencing for the first time someone bringing him to completion.

They stayed intertwined for several moments as Harry gasped for breath, before finally moving over into his own seat. "That…" He said, shaking his head. "Was good." He finished finally, blushing deeply.

Edward ruffled his hair slightly, caressing Harry's hand in his. "Harry." He said finally. "I…I think I love you." He admitted, his eyes boring into Harry's for some sign of a reaction.

Harry blushed even redder if possible, before nodding and snuggling back into Edward's side. He didn't say anything for the time being, but he knew that sometime in the future he would say those same words to Edward.

**A/N: Sorry it's short, but that felt like a good time to leave it. Now I currently have 706 people alerting this story, and I want to hear what you thought of this chapter ****from every single one of you****! Even if it's just a smiley face, please leave me something. I want to know whether you think they are moving too fast, or whether you think it's cute. I, for one, think it's cute ;) Thank you to my readers and reviewers. Love you!**

**AR**


	11. The Fall

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! This took me a while to write and ti may seem a little disjointed because I wrote it over many sessions. It was also originally drafted in messy writing on lined paper during algebra, so some things may have been lost in translation. ;) Hopefully you'll get the picture, even if it's been revised slightly. **

**Also want to point out that the last few chapters (and this one) have not been beta'ed. I've decided to give up on my beta, as I've found it doesn't make a huge difference. After a review of the last 10 chapters I've found that many, many mistakes were missed even when beta'ing was used, so I'm not going to bother. **

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL. MORE?? ;)**

**Chapter 11: The Fall**

As the two left the cinema, Harry couldn't help but notice the curious glances many of the other movie-goers shot the two of them. It was with a very bright blush that Harry realised that they hadn't exactly been quiet – and back row or not, someone had to have noticed the missing shirts. However after a brief spike of embarrassment, Harry felt himself feeling rather thrilled – something about the excitement of doing something do private in a public place gave him an odd sense of exhilaration.

Edward's hand intertwined with Harry's as they made their way out to the car, both refecting silently on this new development in their relationship.

After a few moments of driving and the exhilaration having passed for the most part, Harry felt the weight of what they had done settle uncomfortably in his mind.

"Edward…" he began uncomfortably, turning to see the vampire staring seriously at the road, his knuckles tight on the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry." Edward interrupted, meeting Harry's insecure gaze for a moment, before turning back to the road. "I shouldn't have taken advantage of you." He stated, his steely gazed fixed on the car in front of them.

"No!" Harry said quickly. "You didn't. I wanted to." He said with certainty, frowning as Edward stilled refused to look him in the eye. Harry sighed after a moments silence. "What's wrong, Edward? Didn't you….enjoy it?" Harry swallowed nervously as Edward finally met his gaze.

"No Harry." He shook his head. "That's not it at all!" He sounded a little desperate, Harry though absently. They fell into silence again at Edward's statement, Harry finally sighing and breaking it once more.

"Well…what does this mean for us?" He said quietly, gazing at the side of Edward's face. "I mean, are we…" He paused uncertainly, blushing slightly. "Like…boyfriends?" Harry held his breath as Edward slowly turned to him.

"Do you want to be?" Edward said finally, after a very pregnant pause.

Harry bit his lip slightly before parroting, "Do you?"

Edward said nothing for a long moment. "I…I want to. Yes." He nodded. "But I'm a vampire." He said, as if that should be enough of an explanation.

It wasn't. "And?" Harry challenged. "You're as likely to hurt me as Rosalie is to like me!"

"By intent alone." Edward said quietly, staring fixedly at the road. "But intent means nothing when it's something I may not be able to control."

"I trust you Edward." Harry said without pause. "I've never…I've never felt like this about anyone before. Well, Cedric, but that's different. With you, it's just…" He sighed, struggling to find a word that described his feelings perfectly. "Different." He said finally. "And I trust you." He finished softly.

Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Let me say this Harry," he said, turning to look at him as they stopped at the lights. "My reluctance has nothing at all to do with the way I feel about you. The only thing I am uneasy with is your vulnerability! As a vampire…I could hurt you so easily. Tonight, I wasn't even thinking. I could have really hurt you Harry!"

"But you didn't." Harry argued stubbornly. "And you won't."

"You don't know that." Edward whispered angrily.

"Yes, I do." Harry said strongly. "Now stop arguing. You're my…my boyfriend now." He said softly, looking to Edward for approval.

Finally, Edward nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am." He said with a chuckle, ruffling Harry's hair fondly. However, Harry noticed that not one bit of tension left the vampire's body.

…---…

Cedric sighed as the door bell rang, resigning himself to the fate of having to answer it, as Harry was out. Honestly, it could only be one of Harry's (surprisingly many) friends anyway, seeing as Cedric really only had one friend who he only talked to at work. He groaned, reluctantly pulling himself of the couch and making his way to the door. He loved his days off, and if it were up to him he would spend all of his days curled up on the couch watching antiques road show, Caesar the dog whisperer, or one of the many other lifestyle shows that Cedric lived for. Not that he would willingly admit that to anyone…No, if anyone asked, he was watching the football. Or soccer, as they called it in this strange, strange place.

Finally making it to the door, he swung it open, blinking blearily at the person on the other side. "Hello Bella." He greeted with a yawn. "You here for Harry?"

"Hi Cedric!" Bella greeted enthusiastically. Very enthusiastically. Hmmm. Cedric filed that away for later contemplation. "Yeah," she continued. "Is he in yet?"

"Nah." Cedric said, shaking his head. "But he should be back soon. Come in?" He said after a moment's hesitation.

"Sure! Thanks Cedric." Bella said, walking past him and taking a seat on the couch.

Cedric grumbled mentally as she sat in his favourite spot, before quickly correcting himself as he remembered she was a hot girl. Any hot girl could sit in his spot, he thought with an internal grin….not that he was thinking of Harry's best friend as being hot. No, not at all.

"So…" Cedric began awkwardly. "Harry's out with Edward then?"

"Yep." Bella nodded.

"What are they doing?" Bella blushed quickly, before it was gone from her face. Too late, Cedric had seen it.

"Oh, nothing." She said quickly. "A movie or something."

"Uhuh." Cedric said, eyes narrowing. "What kind of movie?"

"Um…" Bella shrugged. "I'm not sure?"

"Hmph." Cedric grunted. "Well you tell that vampire to watch himself, because the second he hurts Harry he'll wish he'd never been born." He finished darkly.

"Um…" Bella stared at him with widened eyes. "Okay?"

Their…pleasant….conversation was interrupted by the opening of the door, as a happily humming Harry entered.

"Hey Har!" Bella said, jumping up from her seat. "Your room, now!" She demanded, dragging him up the stairs with an apologetic wave to Cedric.

Once they reached his room, Harry sunk down onto the bed while Bella closed the door, before joining him.

"Well?" She demanded, after Harry said nothing. "How was your date?" Harry winced as she practically squealed in his ear, before sighing and nodding.

"Good." He said simply with a sigh.

"Aww!" Bella gushed. "Did you kiss him?" Harry blushed deeply.

"Um…yeah." He muttered, glancing away.

Bella's eyes widened as she yanked his arm. "Wait…you didn't…?" She left the question hanging.

Harry glanced up sheepishly, nodding after a few seconds. "Yeah." He admitted finally. "We did."

"Oh my God!" Bella exclaimed. "Wow. I didn't think you two would…was it good?" She said, suddenly changing tracks.

Harry laughed nervously. "Uh…yeah. It was."

"So are you guys…like together? Like, boyfriend-boyfriend together?" She asked eagerly, leaning forward in anticipation.

"Yes." Harry said, rubbing his neck.

"Congratulations!" Bella squealed, pulling him into a hug. "That's so great. I'm so glad you're happy Har!" She continued on this track for a while, before frowning at Harry's slight despondency. "What's up?" She asked finally.

Harry shrugged. "Edward…wasn't to enthusiastic about it, is all." He said softly.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked in confusion.

"Well…" Harry sighed. "It was all fine while we were…you know…but once we got back in the car he wouldn't shut up about how dangerous it is because he's a vampire." Harry admitted, chewing on his lip a little.

Bella sighed, contemplating his words for a moment. "Look Har, that's just Edward. You probably don't want to hear this, but he was the same when we were together. Always harping on about my safety…he never stopped, and it'll probably only be worse with you because he feels so much more for you. He's over protective…that's just the way it is with Edward I guess."

"I know." Harry said finally. "It just…spoils the moment, you know? He makes out like I can't protect myself."

Bella nodded, agreeing silently. "It's only because he cares so much for you though." Bella reminded him. "So don't be too harsh." She nudged him on the shoulder. Now give me all the details!"

…---…

The next few days were golden, in Harry's opinion. He was fairly sure they were the best of his life so far. He spent the weekend primarily with Edward – they went out at night, and hung out at the Cullen's during the day. Nothing else sexual happened between them, and for that Harry was somewhat grateful. He couldn't help feeling that they had moved a little too fast, and was happy to take a step back for the time being.

It was finally Sunday afternoon, and Harry couldn't help feeling like the utter perfectness he had been feeling the last few days would end when they returned to school. The two were reclined on Edward's bed (a very comfortable bed, even if it was just for show) Harry was reading a book on vampire history, while Edward listened to his ipod next to him. They had been relaxing for the last hour or so, simply enjoying the other's presence and proximity.

"Hey Harry," Edward murmured, causing Harry to look up from his book to see that Edward had placed his ipod on the bedside table and was giving Harry his full attention.

"Yeah?" Harry replied, snuggling a little closer s he leant over to place the book on the table beside the ipod.

"Tell me about you." Edward said after a moments silence. "I want to know you."

"Like what?" Harry said awkwardly after a brief pause. "You know a lot already…"

"Tell me about your friends. The ones in England." Edward said finally, his arm secured around Harry's waist.

"Okay." Harry said with a laugh. "My first friend was Ron. We met on the train when I was eleven…"

---…---

Harry was feeling elated and incredibly at ease as he walked into his house that evening. He and Edward had talked the afternoon away, learning new and interesting facts about each other that they had yet to know. Harry had jut dumped his bag and walked into the kitchen, when his mouth fell open at the sight before him.

"Sirius!" Harry ran towards his godfather, who enveloped him in a brief hug.  
"Hey Harry. Let's go into the living room." He said seriously, taking Harry's arm.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked in confusion, taking a few steps back.

Sirius sighed, shaking his head. "Come into the living room. Me and Remus will explain it to both of you at the same time."

Harry followed his sombre godfather into the living room, taking a seat beside an equally worried looking Cedric.  
"Hey Remus." Harry greeted his honorary uncle. "What's up?"

"We have to go back to England." Remus said bluntly. "Now."

"What?" Harry blinked incoherently at his uncles.

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Dumbledore has asked us to return you to England immediately. I have an idea what it is about, but I will let Dumbledore explain when we get there."

"Wait…we're leaving tonight?" Cedric demanded. The thought '_But the new season of Lost starts tonight…' _was quickly banished as Cedric chided himself for thinking of trivial things in a serious situation.

"Yes." Remus answered with a nod. "As soon as possible."

"When will we be back?" Harry asked cautiously. "This isn't permanent…right?"

"I don't know Harry." Sirius shook his head. "I don't think so. We don't know exactly what is going on here."

"What do I tell my friends?" Harry asked, almost desperately. Sirius raised an eyebrow, shooting a look to Cedric hat clearly read '_Friends? Harry has friends?'_ before turning back to Harry.

"Just…" Sirius sighed. "Just tell them you're going away for the week. Tell them you'll be back on Sunday."

"_Will_ I be back on Sunday?" Harry challenged. "I don't lie to my friends."

Remus sighed impatiently. "Harry, I give you my word we'll do all we can to ensure you're back here by Sunday."

Seeing that Harry wasn't convinced, Cedric stepped over, placing a hand on his as-good-as-brother's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Harry." He promised quietly. "We'll just go and see what Dumbledore wants, and we'll be back before you know it."

Harry sighed, contemplating this for a moment. "Promise?" He said finally, biting his lip.

"Yes, I promise." Cedric said, ignoring the hesitation and lingering uncertainty that he felt for Harry's sake.

"Fine. At least let me call Bella and go grab my stuff." He muttered.

"Be quick." Remus said, but Harry had already disappeared up the stairs.

As he reached for his phone on his dresser, Harry was surprised to find it already ringing. "Hello?" He answered cautiously.

"Where are you going?" The voice demanded. Harry sighed at the high frequency of Alice's 'worried' voice.

"Nowhere, why." Harry said dully, throwing some clothes into his bag.

"Don't lie. I saw you leave!" Alice exclaimed, sounding angry.

Harry sighed. "Look, our uncles are ordering us back to England for the week. I have no say in it, but we should be back on Sunday." Harry explained as he further packed his bag.

"Oh." Alice said. "Well, okay then. But we'll miss you! Especially Edward." She added, and Harry could tell she had winked.

"I know." Harry sighed. "I'll miss you guys too. Look, I don't have time to call Bella or Edward, Remus wants to leave now. Can you tell them goodbye for me? And tell them I'll miss them, and…I love them." He finished softly.

"I will." Alice agreed "Have fun."

Harry snorted, hanging up the phone. Fun. Yeah right. "Hurry up Harry!" Remus called, causing Harry to sigh once more.

"I'm coming!" He yelled back, shoving the photo album he had started building shortly after they moved here into his bag. "Goodbye room." He muttered, staring wistfully at the framed picture of him, Bella and the Cullens on his desk. "Bye guys." He whispered, closing his door and walking down stairs.

"Let's go." Remus said, directing him to the fire. With one last glance at his home, Harry stepped into the green fire.

"Harry!" Dumbledore greeted cheerfully as Harry stumbled into his office. "How are you my boy?" His twinkle, though present, had dimmed somewhat since Harry had last seen him.

"I'm well thankyou sir." Harry replied politely as he took a seat and waited for the arrival of the others. One by one the others filed out of the fireplace (with a little more grace then him, Harry noted with a sigh) and took the vacant seats in the Headmaster's office.

"I'm glad you came so quickly." Dumbledore said, straightening as he became serious. "We have much to talk about."

…---…

_Grimmauld Place_. Harry though, as he stared at the dreary roof above him. Apparently, this was Sirius' ancestral home. It didn't have a homely feel about it, Harry would admit. Infact, it was quite the opposite – what with the peeling paint, screaming portraits and mad house elves to boot. However, the state of the house didn't really matter to Harry at the present moment – rather, the reason he was currently residing in it, and not at his _real_ home in Forks.

Dumbledore had given them a lot of information that, for the most part, had gone right over Harry's head. But the important, life changing information? Yeah, that part he remembered.

Dumbledore had revealed, among other things, that Voldemort had somehow come up with a way to track Harry and locate his whereabouts. The spell had not yet been finished, but one of Dumbledore' spies had made it known that it was very close to completion. For this reason, Dumbledore had explained, staying hidden in Forks was not only pointless, but counteractive to their goal of keeping Harry alive. According to Dumbledore, Harry would be much more protected among Dumbledore and the Order then in a small overseas town with little to no magical population. The underlying result of all this? Harry would not be returning to Forks in the foreseeable future.

"_You will have to stay in England Harry, at least for the time being." _

These words left Harry in a state of constant anxiety. He had promised Alice that we would be home on Sunday. And she…she had promised _Edward_ that he would be back on Sunday. And somehow he was now trapped in this rotting house for the foreseeable future, with a strict ban placed on all overseas contact.

Harry was not happy.

He had completely ignored his friends upon his return, and locked himself in his assigned room. However, they didn't know it yet, but Harry had no intention of staying in England. He would have to for the time being, play the part of the complacent, obeying teenager. But not for long.

Harry had decided this the moment he walked through the dilapidated door.

Harry would return to Forks – with or without permission.

Harry sighed, still trying to formulate his plan. He knew he would be stuck here for at least a few weeks – however unbearable it would be. For this, he needed a survival plan. After several moments of thinking, he came up with a temporary fix to his problem. A variation on a world wide muggle idea – He called it…The Game.


End file.
